The Magician's Apprentice
by Kairos Fateweaver
Summary: The advantages of Elthin and his apprentice Lucine.
1. Chapter 1

**'Book 1 - Prologue: Suppressed Power Awakens'**

Black smoke and the choking fumes of burning wood coat the entrance to the Slums. Flames licked at the air, adding to the already suffocating heat of the surrounding desert, creating a perpetual volcanic atmosphere for those within the immediate area. The source of this inferno are the flaming ruins of a run-down abode. All that remains of this once-lived-in settlement are a few beams of charred wood and the charcoal remains of what was once a set of stairs. All the residents are presumed dead once the Magicians from the Local Guild arrive to douse the flames. A group of ten men, all dressed in the red, gold and black robes of the Magician's Guild, arrive moments after their summons. Most of these men appear aged and carry a sage-like aura with them, however, a handful of them are much younger. One of these younger men, a man in around his mid to late twenties with short red hair and green eyes, shows clear distaste for this section of the City. he has what can only be likened to a bag of smelling salts pushed against his nose as he inhales the aroma deeply, not wishing to take in the acrid scent of the Slums.

After a short while, the flames are soon douse, except for a single ball of fire in the middle of the House. This ball appears to be immune to the magics of the Guild Members as it continues to burn. The dome of fire, around five feet in diameter, slowly begins to fade away at the amazement of the Magicians. Inside the protective dome of fire was a young girl, with scarlet red hair, dressed in the brown rags of most Slum Dwellers. She appeared motionless, lifeless, even, as the older Magicians begin to go over to her to see if she's alive.

"She's a Witch! She should have burned with the house, the Heathen Scum!" The young man, with red hair, from earlier protests to the Older Magicians. "She's clearly the cause of this destruction!"

The older magicians remain silent, contemplating the occurrence of this strange phenomenon. The Young Man continues his protests, ignoring the silence of the Older Magicians for a while, before growing irritated from their lack of response. He then storms off back towards the Guild, leaving the remaining Nine Magicians to ponder this disaster.

Another young man in his earlier twenties stands aside. Watching as the black smoke rose into the clear blue sky with his black spiky hair and blue eyes. Looking upon the ruined building before him that had once been a home to the persons who had used to live there. He studied the events with a keen eye seeing as how a group of ten men arrived to douse the flames. He could feel the sage-like aura that his fellow Guild mates had. However while he himself had a similar aura about he wished to keep it hidden from others. Not wanting them to know who he was or really why she was here in the first place. That is why he kept to the shadows and was dressed in a flowing black cloak. That covered the clothes he was wearing beneath was also another reason as to why he had chosen to wear a cloak this day.

A short time later the flames were out, except for the single flame in the middle. Of the house, he studies this and wonders just why this only flame keeps on burning. He soon gets's his answer as the dome of fire soon fades away to reveal a young girl, with scarlet red hair and dressed in brown rags. She appeared motionless as the other Magicians headed towards her the young man with red hair spoke up. Calling her a witch as the other members of his group remained silent before storming back towards the Guild leaving the other nine magicians to think things over.

"That we clearly do not know there could have easier been another cause. For the flames that had burned down this dwelling," he stepped out from the shadows. Walking over to the other nine magicians once closer he knelt down on the ground on one knee. His cloak moving aside to reveal part of his black ithilmar armor he wore now one had to wonder. Just why a member of the Magicians Guild was wearing a suit of armor that was a question for another day.

"I must also point out that we don't know if she truly is a witch. Another member of her family could have been one and burn in the other flames. After having cast a spell to save this girl from harm for some reason" He pointed out.

With his right hand, he checked for a pulse and to see if the girl had any sort of injuries on her.

While the Older Magicians examined what they could of the remains of the dwelling to draw upon a conclusion, one of the more secretive Guild members arrived on the scene, giving his own interpretation to the situation.

"You've a keen eye, young man." The oldest Magician present answered. His voice sounded dried with age and his skin looked like old parchment. "The burn marks around this girl's shield appear to be coming from the street."

The magician indicated what he meant with a pointing of his cane. The direction of the burn marks did attest to that theory.

"It could be an attempted arson, or, more disturbingly, a Rogue Magician." The Elder Magician finished.

The Young man in armor checked the girl for a pulse. While it was weak, she still appeared to be alive. Most of the wounds on the girl had come from shrapnel of exploding lanterns and falling debris. She appeared to be clear of any burns or critical injuries. However, her skin felt as hot as a naked flame, but not enough to cause any real injuries. This could by why the other Magicians had not touched her, as of yet.

"The only abnormal thing about this disaster is the fact that the shield around the child had its center of origin where she currently lies." The Elder continued. "She could be a born Magician, or somehow came in possession of a Fire Stone."

While he was still checking out the girl one of the oldest Magician's spoke up. He looked over where the magician pointed out with his cane. In his line of work one needed a keen eye he studied the burn markings on the street.

"Could perhaps these markings been some sort of trap. Placed here with this girl's knowledge as you as they shielded her while doing the rest of the home harm. Maybe this has a far deeper meaning than we know about" he said.

While Rouge Magician's were a common threat in these parts of the country. It was this young man's job to find these magician's and either bring them too justice of kill them outright. "While it could be what you pointed out elder we won't know more until this area is further studied."

He went back to checking the girl she had wounds on her from the shrapnel of exploding. Lanterns and falling debris her skin was also hot to the touch. He was glad this girl hand no serious injuries on her. He stood back up and looked at the elder magician again then back at the area around the girl.

"Has something like this ever happened before?" he asked. Looking again once more with his eyes at the area around the girl.

The Young Man continued his investigation, while the magicians did their own.

From a once-over of the surrounding area, it appeared that, whatever caused the fire, was't an accident. There were no oil marks anywhere in the remains of the abode, and no indication that the fire started within the house, Whatever did this was thorough and methodical. Nearly all evidence was either burned up or lost to the exposure of the outside, save for some clear marks in the floor a little bit back from the girl. There were scratch marks, dents and chinks in the remaining wood, like a fight had broken out during the fire. Even more disturbingly, there was dried blood burned into the flooring as well. By the look of the sphere's area of effect, it was probably covering the Girl's family, and not just herself, however, only the girl remained. Had the rest of her family perished in the fire, or was there something far more sinister going on?

"The Slums are a dangerous place, Young Man. It is not uncommon for there to be random acts of unprovoked assault and wanton destruction happening." The Elder answered. "However, Rouge Magicians are indeed a threat as well."

The Elder checked over the girl as well once her skin had cooled a little.

"She could very well be orphaned, now." The Elder commented as he passed a hand over the girl a little ways away from her body. "She does, indeed, bare all the right qualities needed for a Magician. She was the one who made the Barrier. While the earlier accusation of Witchcraft may be the answer, I do not bare it in me to take the life of one so young. However, we cannot just let her run free and unprotected after this tragedy."

The Elder pushed himself up and regarded the Young Man.

"What, say, do you think should be done?" The Elder asked.

The young magician still looked around the area. From what he could tell was that it wasn't an accident that caused this what he also picked up was that there wasn't much other evidence to find as it had all been either burned up or lost to exposure. However when he looked closer he did see some marks on the remaining wood and the dried blood that appeared on the floor. That appeared to have been burned there this just raised even more questions that needed answers to.

"That I know of Elder for in my journey's across this country. I have seen many Slum-like areas like this one where these acts of assault and destruction have happened." The young man said when the Elder mentioned once more of Rouge Magicians the young man was silent once more. "If perhaps a Rouge Magician has found their way into the city then we have a far greater problem on our hands."

He looked as the elder checked her out.

"Neither do I, as for what will be done about this girl. I will take her under my care for the time being there are still questions that must be answered. Maybe once this girl fully awakens and giving time to heal. We can find out the answers to the questions that we seek. Maybe in time, I can come to teach her how to be a Magician but for now, that will have to wait" he pointed out.

The young man that reached down and took the girl into his arms. "If you find anything else in your quest for answer elder I would very much like to know them. I also believe I haven't told you my name as I still am fairly new to our guild having just transferred here from the capital a month ago my name is Elthin Veldhar" Elthin said.

The Young Man appeared to be well traveled and knowledgeable about the current situation of this Country. After the question from the Elder, the Young Man offered to take the girl into his care. The Young Man introduced himself to the Elder.

"I will aim to keep you informed, Elthin." The Elder answered with a nod of his head. "She will need to attend the Guild, however, as I am certain she has little to no control over her Gift. The creation of the barrier could have just been an automatic reaction based on her emotional state. If she doesn't learn control, we could face another disaster like this, and she may no longer be the innocent party."

With that closing statement, the Elder bid farewell to Elthin and headed off to the Guild with the other Magicians, leaving Elthin with the currently unconscious girl.

Elthin listened closely to what the elder had to say about the young girl. The Elder agreed to keep him informed of matters and that she would need to attend the Guild If she didn't learn to control her powers than they would be facing another disaster or something much worse.

"Given proper teaching, she will learn to control her gift. But it takes a time to fully control ones' powers I have seen some people learn quickly while others. Take years just to learn the basics of control."

The Elder then bid farewell to Elithin leaving. Him alone with the girl while he wished to study this place further that would have to wait for another time. Turning he followed the group of Magicians into the Nobles district where after turning. East and then right, left and right once more Elthin arrived at his current estate. Saying a word in the tongue of the ancients the door to his home soon opened and Elthin entered.

Inside Elthin's home was much like any other high-ranking noble of the city. However his was also much different for Elthin was a collecter of sorts. Upon the walls and in shelves were priceless pieces of art and old artifacts from several old civilizations. He walked by these and took the girl into his room where he set the girl down gently upon his bed.

Inside Elthin's bedroom, there was a simple desk in the far right corner of the room. Upon said desk where many scrolls and books. To the right of the desk was a large bookshelf filled with more books ranging from history, the arts, old civilizations, magical artifacts, to the knowledge of the four basic magic elementals. For Elthin was a seeker of knowledge he liked to learn and study things his current field of study was on old civilizations.

To the left of Elthin's bed was a stand for where he placed his armor. When not wearing it along with a weapon stand for the weapon he always carried with him. Upon the middle wall of the room was a grand painting of various colored dragons flying across the sky.

Looking back at the young girl Elthin left her be so, she could get some rest. Leaving the room to make them both something to eat.

Elthin took the unconscious suspected Magician Girl to his home and left her to sleep some more on the bed. When he looked back at her, she appeared to be waking up somewhat, but was still not quite awake yet. When she wakes up, she'll more than likely need a bath to prevent the grime of the Slums from ruining the nice furnishings. Most nobles wouldn't even dream of bringing a Slum dweller into their own homes, but Elthin was clearly not a normal Noble.

A few moments after Elthin left the room, there were a few quiet sounds coming from the girl as she began to move around a little more. After a short while, her eyes began to open groggily.

The Girl, once mostly awake, began to slowly push herself up from the bed as she looked around her current location. She was a mixture of awed, shocked and scared. This was obviously not her home, and she knew it. It looked far too pristine and well maintained to be her home. Just where was she? Had she been kidnapped? Had she passed over to the other side? Was this paradise, or damnation? The last thing she remembered was waking up in the middle of the night to lots of noise and the smell of woodsmoke, followed by the bangs and crashes of panicked movements. Was it all a dream? Then, it hit her...A sharp pain cut through her abdomen and caused her to yelp a little. She clutched at the source of the pain, only to make it hurt worse as she felt something digging in to her side. The searing pain continued as she felt her clothing become warm and damp. She looked down to see a patch of red pooling against the brown of her clothing near her left hip.

Her breathing became rapid and her mind began to swim with memories of the previous evening. The smoke, the screaming and shouting, the bangs and crashing, the crackle of flames and the shattering of a gas lamp, the spray of glass shards and the pangs of pain as a shard hit her.

"Help! Anyone, HELP!" The Girl screamed out of instinct as she tried her best to staunch the bleeding of her side. She'd probably made it much worse by pressing it further in.

Elthin didn't know that the girl was waking up before he had left the room. He was busy taking off his armour when he then heard the girl scream. Elthin quickly stopped what he was doing and ran back into his room to see that the girl was in a panic. Elthin also faintly smelt blood in the air and over a few moments time knew the girl was injured. Walking further into the room he held up his hands.

"There's no need to be afraid my name is Elthin what is your name?" Elthin asked He was now standing a few feet away from his bed still with his hands up. In a gesture nothing was going to happen he knew the girl was shocked and scared and didn't want. To do anything that might set her off in a bad way so he tried speaking to her once more.

"Are you hurt if you'd let me I can take care of your injuries?" Elthin asked.

During the panic from the wound, it appeared that the girl's screams had attracted the attention of the resident of this house, who came rushing in. He began to speak to her, but she wasn't in any condition to focus so it didn't mean much to her other than some background droning. There was now a clear indication as to where her wound was, if the large patch of dripping red on her clothes was anything to go by. The bleeding has become a little worse due to her current heightened state of panic and attempts at stopping the bleeding. The person, whom was now in the room with her, didn't seem to be hostile, so she decided to try her chances.

"Help, my side..." The girl gasped out through pain and gritted teeth. Tears were now welling up in her eyes. "glass...stuck in...it hurts..."

The girl told him that it was her side that hurt Elthin hurried over to her side. Pulling back the bedcovers he got a closer look at her side. Elthin could see a small trail of blood had soaked onto the bed and some glass that was indeed stuck in her side. "I'll do what I can to help" he reached down with a hand and held it near the girl's side. Chanting some quiet words in the ancient tongue much like what he had used to enter his home.

A blue light formed in his hand moving it closer. With his index finger he touched the tip of the glass shard slowly it began to slide out of the girl. Until it was all the way out placing it upon the desk he went back to the girl. Again he chanted once more and placed his glowing hand against the girls side. Closing his eyes he held his hand there as he chanted a small healing spell which was enough to close the wound on her side.

"I've closed the wound I suggest that you take it easy for a while. And do nothing too serious to reopen it" Elthin told her he left the room for a moment to look for some bandages which he found in a supply closet. He returned shortly after and started to attend to her side with them.

Expecting a call to a Doctor or some other kind of medical person, the girl was extremely surprised to see the Homeowner come over to tend to the wound by himself. Due to the pain, she couldn't really process much of what he was doing, but soon found that he had removed the glass shards from her side, causing it to bleed and hurt even more than before, enough for her to cry out in pain. Soon after, she felt a warm feeling against the wounds and the pain began to dissipate, nearly completely being healed. Was this person a Magician? If he was, what was she doing in his house? Questions will have to come later as the Homeowner left the room for a bit, leaving her all by herself. Now that the predicament was mostly sorted, she could finally process things a little better, if only slightly.

Moment later, the homeowner, whom introduced himself as Elthin earlier, returned with some rolled up pieces of cloth. She hadn't seen anything like these before in the Slums. If they were used for medical purposes, why hadn't the Slum 'Doctors' used them aside from old bits of shredded clothes? Elthin began to pull up her dress once more to apply the cloth to her side. The cloth caused her healing wounds to sting a little more than they were, so it was obviously doing something right. If this person had kidnapped her for selling as a slave, why was he being so nice to her? She could stay silent no longer.

"Why are you doing this for me? If you're a noble, why would you be nice to a Slum Dweller?" She asked. "Are you trying to sell me to the highest bidder, like you people did with my friends?"

Until she was certain that Elthin was on her side, she wasn't going to give away her name or any other details about herself so easily.

Elthin had placed some bandages around her side. While doing his best to make the process as painless as possible. While he knew how to treat wounds his skills were rather basic at best. Once he had taken care of her he placed her dress back down. Not having any interest in doing bad things to her or not for Elthin wanted to appear nice he wanted her to trust him. Soon the girl began to talk with Elthin once more.

"I'm doing this because you're in pain, while I am a noble. I have nothing against Slum Dweller's as you put it I believe a noble. and slum dweller is just people nothing more. I don't plan on selling you or anything of the sort and please don't label me with 'those' people. For I have my own interests as you can see from around my room I like to study and collect things" Elthin said.

He let the girl take this all in before speaking again.

"Can. you please tell me your name my name is Elthin?"

Elthin passed the first test after bandaging the girl up. He didn't try to do anything questionable to her, like most men his age would do to a Slum Dweller. Still, he was far from being classed as a 'Decent Person' as he didn't even ask her before or apologize after inappropriately undressing her. Guess things could have been worse...

Elthin then answered her questions, giving the obvious answers which someone with vile intentions may give. While this gave her some comfort, she still didn't trust him. He then asked for her name. While she was unsure whether to give up that piece of information just yet, she deemed it necessary.

"Lucine." The girl replied. "Guess you need something to call me by if you're going to be confining me here and I'll rather not be called 'tramp' or 'temptress', so it's better for me this way."

While her tone was even, if a little accusatory, it was obvious that her trust issues were down to mistreatment from other Nobles to her and people like her. It was basic knowledge that Slum Dwellers hated Nobles.

While he had done things like not apologizing to her he had more pressing concerns. He didn't want anything bad to happen to this girl let alone set her off again. Like what had happened at her home and with his talk with the elder. If things were indeed true anything bad might cause a bad reaction which could lead to much worse things.

"Lucine, that's a nice name" Elthin replied. "Why, would I call you those things I have no need to your a guest in my home and I will treat you with respect and courtesy."

Elthin knew that she had issues with his kind. As any basic noble or slum dweller would tell you that they hated the other kind. He then pulled up a chair and sat down across from her "As I'm sure you've already noticed is yes I am an Magician and I work for the local guild."

Elthin, again, gave expected answers for someone trying to entice a naive girl to do their bidding. He didn't seem to be one for breaking the mold just yet. If 'respect' and 'courtesy' were anything like the Nobles tried to enforce onto Slum Dwellers, then she'd rather be treated with disdain and repulsion.

"You've got quite the silver tongue." Lucine slyly smiled to Elthin. "Do you say that to every girl you bring in here?"

He was trying to butter her up, or so she believed. She'll play along. She leaned forward a little on the bed, causing her dress to fall forward and show off her chest, which was clearly lacking in any bosom. However, the small pink tips of her nipples could just about be seen before the dress covered them. The pink was very clear against the colour of her tanned skin.

Elthin introduced himself as a Magician who worked for the Local Guild. As she'd never seen him around the city before, it was likely he just transferred her from one of the neighboring cities. Magicians could easily be drawn to sin, so she thought she'd try something a little 'extra' to determine this person's personality.

"You've already seen nearly everything down below, so...wanna see what's up top?" Lucine asked Elthin as seductively as she could.

"I don't bring many people into my home, as I spend much of my time traveling the world," Elthin says he was being truthful with Lucine.

He knew she was playing games with him as he had seen things type. Of things happen in the past and he wasn't going to play her games. Seeing as how she learned forward causing her dress to fall forward showing off her bosom. Elthin looked away he didn't want to be seeing this "can you please lean back to how you were sitting before?" Elthin asked.

He waited for her to do so she appeared not to be doing so.

"No thank you Lucine, and please would you kindly stop this?" Elthin asked.

Finally, Elthin's answers didn't seem so scripted as before. According to what he said, he was a traveler of sorts.

Lucine's temptations fell on barren lands as Elthin didn't seem even the slightest bit interested in her actions and, actually, looked to be quite put off by them. Could he be that way inclined? Did he yearn for the touch of, not a woman, but something else? This could be fun to probe. If he did, then, by order of the Governing Bodies...

When she found out that her temptations weren't getting through, Lucine returned to her previous position and her chest was no longer on display. Now was the time to press it further.

"So, you don't like girls?" Lucine asked innocently. "Is tender flesh not good enough for you? Would you rather the coarse touch of another Man?"

Lucine made a play of being both shocked and intrigued. He could be fun to play with.

Once Lucine was sitting like before he turned to face her once more. She then tried the innocent act with him as she played another one of her so called games.

"I prefer girls my own age thank you" Elthin says.

Not even going on to answer her other questions.

"Why are you playing these games with me I took you into my home because you were. Hurt some sort of explosion destroyed your home and I've been told you might have been the one. Who caused it I've been nice to you this entire time and I would please like it if you were nice back to me and stopped playing these games." Elthin told her.

Elthin's answer was kind of what Lucine expected it to be. Little girls just didn't do it for him. She was about to put on an act of being hurt by his comment that she wasn't 'Womanly' enough for him, but was soon stopped by Elthin spilling everything he could to get her to comply. So, he knew it all, then?

"Guess you wanted to do the deed yourself, huh?" Lucine asked matter of factly. She didn't seem to be too surprised by the fact that she was taken in by a Magician after she was expected to have blown up a house. "Could you make it quick? I'd rather not suffer by burning at the stake or being drowned."

"I'm not doing the deed myself, I have questions I'd like answered if you can answer them." Elthin told her. Lucine then said she wanted things to be quick, "I have no plans of killing you or anything of the sort so, you need not worry about your life coming to an end." Elthin added. He got up from his chair and looked back at her,

"Are you okay enough to walk a little ways to the kitchen I bet you are hungry?" Elthin asked. He then thought of something else "I believe you should also get cleaned up later, I have bath you can use to do your personal things."

Elthin vehemently refused to do anything final to Lucine, despite how he seemed to accuse her of causing the fire.

"Guess you're not a stickler to the rules, then." Lucine answered as a ghost of a smile could be seen on her face. "Took me in to stop the others from doing it, did you?"

Elthin asked if Lucine was well enough to head into the kitchen.

"As long as I take it slow, I guess so." She answered as she slowly got up off the bed.

Elthin informed Lucine of the fact that he had a bath she could use. At first, she thought she'd misheard him and just got wishful thinking stuck in her mind.

"You mean a real bath? Not just an old barrel of rainwater and some torn rags?" She asked as her eyes began to light up. "With that slippery nice smelling stuff they call 'Soap' as well?"

It was amazing how excited a person could get over the prospects of a proper bath.

"If I had let the others deal with you things would be even worse. Would you want bad things to be happening to you right now or nice things like being in a nice warm house? With a warm meal and the possibility of a nice warm bed to sleep on other than being chained in a cell that is cold and damp?" Elthin asked.

"May I help you into the kitchen?" Elthin asked. This time showing her more of a nice said by asking first instead of just taking her along.

Lucine seemed to be happy about taking a bath.

"Yes, a real bath with nice warm water and 'Soap'" he looked at her again. "I also believe we need to get you some new clothes sadly I have nothing in my collection that can fit you. When your well enough we can go to the shopping district to buy some things for you."

Elthin asked rhetorical questions, acting like Lucine was the cause for all of this hassle. He didn't really give her much of a choice in ways of how to answer.

"Do I even need to answer that?" Lucine asked, looking a little annoyed by the accusations and the pointless question.

Elthin offered to help her into the kitchen.

"So you do wanna touch me then?" Lucine asked, returning to her playful charade from earlier. "Guess a little reach around won't hurt me. Just go easy on the side, okay? And no touching below the waist or above the stomach."

Despite the questionable wording, that appeared to be an answer of acceptance.

Elthin elaborated a little on the idea of a bath and even threw in the prospects of shopping.

"A bath, warm food and some new clothes?" Lucine listed. "Guess I've been blessed today. Maybe you aren't so bad after all. However, I'd rather get the clothes today. I'm well enough to move around, really."

He knew she seemed annoyed but just ignored it. "Will you stop with the games please!" Elthin told her he wrapped a arm around her stomach and helped her slowly walk towards the kitchen. During the walk Elthin didn't touch her anywhere bad and they soon reached the kitchen. After a few minutes of walking he then helped her sit down in a chair by. Pulling one out for her to sit on the kitchen had the basic table and two chairs. It looked like a normal everyday noble kitchen one would see in a noble's home.

"Yes, every one of those." Elthin said. "Once your done eating and all cleaned up we will go get you the clothes." Elthin added he went around looking through his supply of food. "Is there anything special you'd like to eat?" Elthin asked.

It appeared that Magicians didn't really have a sense of humor. Or, maybe, it was just this one. Lucine sighed in frustration before putting across her intentions.

"Would it kill you to have a sense of humor?" Lucine asked, slightly annoyed by the lack of understanding.

Elthin assisted Lucine with getting into the kitchen, being as gentlemanly as possible. He even went as far as to pull out a chair for her to sit on at the table.

"How nice! A meal and additional service." Lucine commented as she did a mock curtsy before sitting down. "Much appreciated, my Lord."

Maybe a less innuendo ridden and more direct humor approach was all this person understood? There's no fun in obvious jokes, she believed.

Elthin gave a rough outline of what he intended to do with her.

"No peeking while I'm in there, okay?" Lucine answered, returning to her previous line of comedy. It was fun to watch him go overboard with acting like she actually meant what she was saying. "If you do, guess we'd have to be wed as soon as possible to protect my dignity. Of course, I wouldn't mind marrying your money."

Elthin asked if there was anything in particular she wished to eat. Given the choice of food, Lucine couldn't think of anything.

"As long as it isn't dried, moldy breadcrusts, I'm up for it. Just none of that green stuff, though." Lucine replied.

Elthin did have a sense of humor he just didn't show it all that often. 'Would you rather have me go like this?" Elthin asked, he started to laugh for no reason then stopped after she had sat down. He went in search of some bowls and silverware and set them on the table. Followed by searching through his stock of food for something the both of them could eat.

"You need not worry about me peeking in on you unless you want me to?" Elthin said showing his rare sense of humor then he returned to normal. "I have no reason to marry someone so young you couldn't offer me anything anyway." Elthin soon pulled out a loaf of bread, and some meat which was cold he'd have to cook it. He set the bread on the table if was fresh and warm, going along and setting butter and jam on the table too.

Going over to his stove he placed the rabbit meat on it. Lighting it up it slowly started to cook "it will be a short while before the meat is finished cooking, want anything to drink?" Elthin asked.

Elthin further elaborated on Lucine's belief that he was not quite all there with a random outburst of laughter.

"Been sniffing too many Cauldron fumes, or something?" Lucine asked in response to the randomness. "Magicians are so weird."

After all her hope of smutty humor was all but lost, Elthin finally went along with the direction of her latest probe.

"I thought that all men ever thought of was how to return to where they came from?" Lucine smiled in response to the play-along. "While I might not have much to offer now, who knows? I may turn into quite the Woman when I'm older."

Elthin placed a selection of produce on the table. Luncine knew that one of the items was bread, fresh from the oven if the delicious scent was anything to go by. However, she had no idea what the cream colored solid stuff was, or the fruity smelling sticky stuff. Maybe they were some form of appetizer? If they were, why were they bought out with bread?

While Lucine pondered what the two foreign foodstuffs were, Elthin asked her another difficult to answer the question.

"What have you got?" Lucine asked. "Anything but well water will be fine. Perhaps, some Wine? Or some of that sweet smelling stuff they call Mead."

"Look at yourself you're the weird one here playing all games" he was silent for a while as he was checking in on the meat making sure nothing went wrong. "You just don't know men very well do you? all them don't only think about sex" Elthin says "maybe you who knows what the future holds in store." Elthin added.

He noticed Lucine seemed confused by the two things he put on the table. "The fruity stuff is jam and the cream colored stuff is butter you can place it on the bread there with your knife," Elthin told her. He walked over and then cut a slice of bread using a small silver knife it took some of the jam and spread it on the bread showing her how to do so.

"I've got fresh water and wine but I think you are too young for that stuff. Sorry but I haven;t got any Mead here at all" He walked back to the stove. The meat was cooking nicely and smelled great he turned to Lucine and asked another question.

"So, why not tell me about yourself how long have you been living in this city?" Elthin asked.

Elthin tried to accuse Lucine of being weird. She just giggled a little at the comments.

"I'm more normal than some of the Slum dwellers. Someone I knew once stole a pipe from an old Magician and ended up babbling on about dragons on mountains of cream and faeries made of sugar beets. I think the pipe was laced with some of the stuff Magicians snorts." Lucine chuckled wile recounting. "And you call us weird? If that's what magicians use, then they probably see those kinds of things all day."

Elthin tried to defend the honor of Men but was only met by suppressed laughing from Lucine. She didn't seem to believe him. He then elaborated on the things he put on the table with the bread. Both of them, apparently, could be spread onto bread. He showed her what to do, but she still looked rather confused.

"Okay..." Lucine answered after the explanation. "Nobles have so many strange things."

Despite how complex it all looked to her, it still smelled very nice. Unsure of how to eat things in a Noble's home, Lucine just tried her best to eat as dignified as possible, taking small bites of the jammed bread to test the flavour. When she reached the jam part, all her dignified practice was lost as she returned to scoffing down the food as fast as possible. Jam, whatever it was, was really nice. Fruits were extremely rare in the slums, and this stuff they called 'Jam', was nonexistent. Wanting more jam on bread, Lucine took another slice of the bread and slapped on a large dollop of jam before roughly spreading it around and wolfing down her second slice. She was about to go for a third when Elthin talked to her once more.

"Fresh water it'll have to be, then." Lucine answered regarding beverages. "Guess Mead is more of a Slum drink than a Noble one."

Elthin wanted to know a little more about her.

"Born and raised here. Never been outside the City walls." Lucine replied. "How about you? What do you do for a living? All of these...things on your walls look like they might fetch a high price."

Hearing Lucine laugh was actually quite nice to hear she had a cute one at that. He then listened to her as she spoke once more. "Well, I don't snort anything as you put it or even smoke for that matter," he didn't answer the last part of her question as the meat had finally finished cooking Elthin went over and took it off the stove, Using another larger knife he started to cut it up into smaller pieces and began placing them onto another plate.

He then heard her burst of laughing and for a moment joined in then stopped again. "So, do Slum dweller girls as well but I'd rather not get into that,"

He set the plate on the table and then got up and got both them. Cups of fresh water from the tap in the kitchen and handed on glass to her. Before helping himself to some of the rabbit on the plate next to him.

"I was born and raised in the kingdom of Glacialis, which is located on the continent just south of this one. As for what I do for a living I'm a studier of knowledge and a collector of sorts. These things that you have seen around my home. Are stuff that I have collected over the years in my many travels across the land. Perhaps one day I if you like I can take you on one of my travels"

Elthin didn't comment much on the idea that some Magicians had questionable pass-times. He just insisted that he never took part in those things. In regards to Lucine's comment on what weird things Nobles had, Elthin, once again, accused her of being weird. Or, more accurately, all Slum Dwelling Girls. On his return to the table, Elthin bought along the meat which was being cooked. It had a strange aroma, but, in truth, all the new things Lucine had been experiencing in this short space of time could have been explained the same way.

Unlike how Lucine normally collected water, Elthin's manner was much easier. He placed the glass under a strange metal implement over a large bowl-like hole of metal in a worktop. It looked close to the pumps near the wells in the Slums, except, this one was much cleaner, and the water it produced was not a murky colour. It also had nothing floating inside it, like well water normally did. How convenient. No pumping needed. Just a quick turn of a valve was all that was needed. Once the glass was placed on the table, Lucine leaned over a little to look through it. The water was pristine. She could even see the other side of the table through it. All these new things she never knew about were all popping up before he. She had a hard time believing this was really happening. Cautiously, Lucine picked up the glass of water and took a sip of it. It didn't have any taste at all, which was strange. Well water normally tasted rather bitter or, in some cases, sickly. Additionally, unlike when she drank from the well, this water didn't cause her stomach to hurt at all. She could get use to this.

Elthin, in response to her question, gave a little more information about where he came from and what he did. It sounded very bizarre to go searching for old dusty things like the stuff in his home but, if it allowed her to finally leave the confines of the city and see the world, she'd do anything.

"If it means leaving this place, I'm all for it." Lucine happily replied. "I want to see the world. I want to learn more about what's outside the city."

Elthin ate his meal in peace and watched how Lucine ate and drank. Everything she was going through must be rather strange for her since she had never done these sort of things before. Let alone been in a Nobles house like his maybe she had been in other Noble's placed before but he wasn't going to ask her if she had at all.

Lucine seemed all for the idea of leaving the city. To see the world and learn what life was like outside. What she didn't know that his travels were also filled with danger having to stop Rouge Magicians from time to time. "Then on my next travel you can come along," Elthin told her with a smile he then got serious for a while.

"I'm about to ask you a serious question and would like a serious answer. While I'm not sure whether or not you have another family to stay with in this city. Or if you are truly alone now after what happened to your home my question is would you be interested in perhaps becoming my apprentice. I would teach you everything that I currently know about the world outside of this town and a few others things as well?" Elthin asked.

He went silent to let this sink into her.

Lucine, like before, had dropped any form of dignity and began to eat at her usual pace. She hadn't eaten this well ever, and she wasn't about to miss this chance. She only stopped to answer questions posed to her.

"Even if you didn't offer that, I would have probably tailed you in secret until we got far enough away from the city," Lucine replied with a smile. It was unclear whether she meant that as a joke or if she was serious.

All joking was thrown aside when Elthin asked a heavy question. Lucine took a few moments to think through her answer before giving it.

"I want to know what happened last night and the only way I can do that is by sticking close to you. I'm not sure if my family is alive, or dead. From what I remember, they are alive, or that could just be wishful thinking. Someone, a Magician from the look of their clothes and their ability to use Magic, or maybe even a Witch, broke into my home last night and took my family away. I think they were looking for me, as they kept going on about a 'Witch' in my family as they torched whatever they could a a threat. If I have any hope of finding out who they were, I need to know what to look for, and you can help me with that. It's true, I can use magic, or at least that's what I remember, but I don't know how to use it. You're the only one who can help me with this and not try to kill me for the accusation of Witchcraft. Or, at least I hope." Lucine answered, her usual jovial manner from earlier replaced with earnest. "It's either work with you, or get passed over to be executed, isn't it. I plead the second."

Elthin looked to see that Lucine seemed quite hungry so he let her eat. How she liked not wanting to bother her at all as she ate. He took in what she had said next picking up on what she had meant. "That wouldn't have been very wise who knows what would happen to you out there" Elthin pointed out.

Soon Elthin got the answer to what he had asked.

"While I would also like to know what happened to you last night as well. I do think that it would be best if you did stay close with me for now." Elthin stopped speaking as she explained things further to him that someone might have broken into her house last night. His eyes darkened at the thought of a Rouge Magician doing something like this. "Then a Rouge Magician has indeed found their way into the city," Elthin said quietly he would have to let the elder know about this and what Lucine had just told him.

"I can teach you to have to control the magic that you can cast. However it will be a long and hard road for you as learning magic takes time if not years to fully learn about. Or even to cast a simple spell while you do have some talent I don't anything bad to happen to you." Elthin was serious in what he was saying to her. "I will help you in any way that I can I would also think it would be wise to teach you other methods to defend yourself other than just magic. I can teach you swordsmanship if you like?"

He let all that sink in.

"You will be staying with me I can have an extra you prepared for you this evening"

After Lucine explained her case to Elthin, he returned to his usual seriousness with more questions.

"I could use all the help I can get. I know that Magic can be faked with Elemental Stone, but I don't have one of those, and neither did this person from last night. If I could properly learn how to use these 'Powers' I've got, then I'm certain we can bring this person to the end they deserve. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get these powers under my control." Lucine answered. She smiled at his concern for things ways of self defense other than Magic. "Mister, I was raised in the Slums. Give me dagger over weighty swords any day and I can show you that I'm more than just a pretty face. Ever been kicked where it hurts before? That's self defense. And I'm the master of busting those nuts up."

Elthin informed Lucine that she'll be staying in this house. She had no complaints but, also, now was the time to make everything less serious. She hated deep conversations.

"In my own room, I hope. Don't want to be sleeping in the bed of a strange man. Who know what'll happen to me?" Lucine returned.

"I would rather not go down the Elemental Stone path unless needed. As I have seen some bad things happen when those stones are used. You will learn how to control those 'powers' but also you will be given a complete education as well. I'm glad that your will to learn we will start tomorrow or whenever your ready." Lucine seemed already to know some skills as she had mentioned a dagger. "I would rather teach you other methods to take a foe down but having those you already know of can help as well."

Elthin went back to eating his dinner which he soon finished up.

"You will have your own room, anyway, we should get you to the bath to freshen up. Before we head out later as we have quite a few things to do."

Elthin explained about Elemental Stones and the potential drawbacks of using them. He also went on to say that Lucine will be getting a full education as well and that she can start whenever she was ready.

"I think we should start the proper education a little later as...well...I don't know how to read or write and I think that they're needed for this 'proper education'." Lucine admitted. "We get taught life skills in the Slums, not book skills. I can pierce three apples with a single dagger throw, but I can't write anything, or read up on how to write."

Both of them soon finished their food.

"Okay. Where's the bath?" Lucine asked as she pushed herself up from the table.

"I can teach you how to read and write and yes those things are needed" Elthin explained. Lucine then got up from the table and he mentioned for her to follow him. "It's this way" Elthin led her out of the kitchen and down a long hallway towards a single set of doors. He soon opened them up and led her inside of the bathroom.

The inside of Elthin's bathroom was quite elegant it was typical Nobles bathroom. With a large tub in the middle of the room with neatly carved dragon's heads that can be used to. Turn on either hot or cold water when needed the tub was large enough. To hold two people inside of it but was mainly used for one person. There was also soap and various cleaning materials used for when one normally takes a bath located around the tub.

"I will leave you in peace, to turn on the water just turn these numbs here to the right. Which will release water into the tub you don't want to use very hot water. As you might burn yourself I would say make the bath nice and warm for starters." Elthin told her showing her how to use the numbs.

Elthin lead Lucine to the bathroom. Upon entering the bathroom, Lucine, once again, showed how little knowledge she had about Nobles and the world they live in.

"That's not a bath. That's a small lake." Lucine commented, awe evident in her gaze. "Just what's with the stuff around it. How many types of soap are they and how many things does one person need to get clean?"

Elthin showed what the dragon-statue things were used for. When he looked back to explain what he was doing, Lucine had already removed all her clothes and thrown them on the floor. Aside from her usual questionable advances, this one looked to be completely different. This wasn't joking, this was pure lack of knowledge. It was clear that she didn't know what should be shown and what shouldn't be shown to other people. She obviously didn't understand the concept of modesty.

Lucine stepped into the large expansive bath and sat down in the corner closest to the left Dragon, not caring what was on display or not.

"So, aren't you getting in with me?" Lucine asked. Again, this was not down to her questionable advances earlier. This was lack of knowledge once more. "Bath water's hard to get where I'm from, so we've got to use it as much as we can while we have it."

"It only takes on soap to clean yourself, these other things are shampoo which can. Be used to wash your hair with you can also use some body lotion to make your skin. Nice a silky smooth of you want to that is,:

When he had turned back to look at her he could see. That she had removed her clothes and was now naked he blushed as he looked at her then looked back at the water. Making sure it was all warm for her to step into which it was Elthin. Turned off the water and got up as Lucine stepped into the bath and sat down.

"N-No it wouldn't be right for me to do so. I would like to point out that next time you should wait until. After I have left the room to remove your clothes as it isn't really nice to be just dropping them and doing what you did." Elthin explained.

He got up from the tub and turned away from Lucine. He was clearly uncomfortable around her when she was naked. "I will leave you in peace" He then left the room.

Elthin gave a quick explanation of all the things around the bath and what they were used for. So many things for such a simple action of taking a bath...It'll take some getting used to to fully understand the world Lucine's been thrown in to.

Strangely, Elthin acted a little different from earlier. Did he appear...embarrassed? Lucine didn't understand what was so embarrassing about taking her clothes off before getting into a bath. Did Nobles bath with their clothes on?!

"Oh, okay. I'll remember that." Lucine answered, still confused as to why he was acting as he was.

Elthin then left Lucine alone to take a bath. At first, she didn't know how to use some of the things in the room but, with some trail and error, she managed to find out how soap was meant to be wet before she could rub it on herself to get clean. It took her some time as well to understand that soap got very slippery when it was wet. She didn't even try to understand how shampoo and conditioner was meant to be used just yet. She wanted to get the basics of Soap use down before anything else.

Elthin had gathered up Lucine's dirty clothes he took them. To a private room located just off to the right of his own speaking an ancient word. The door opened and Elthin stepped inside the room was completely dark when he entered but four torches suddenly lit up once he entered. Tossing her clothes into the air they began to hover in the air.

Moving his hands in complex patterns the very air around the room grew cold. As the temperature dropped a freezing cold wind blew throughout the room. As the cold wind blew as her clothes they started to freeze the dried blood and dirt upon them seemed to be washed away. In a matter of seconds as they were cleaned by his magic. The wind died down as the ice on her clothes melted away leaving the clothes clean and looking like new they were totally dry as well.

He stopped casting her magic and took her clothes. Leaving the room he headed towards a second room two doors down from his opening the door. He looked around inside this room would serve as Lucine's own room.

After mastering Soap usage, Lucine moved over to flannel use. Using this piece of particular scratchy fabric was very similar to using the old dirty rags she had while bathing in the slums. The only difference was that this didn't make her dirty, unlike the rags from the slums. taking extra care around her current injury, Lucine finished up washing down her front, arms and legs and was left puzzling over how to clean her back down. Looking at all the different items strew around the large bathtub, she found a long sick of wood with a spongy end to it. This must be used to wash her back down. After soaping up the sponge, she found this tool the easiest to use out of all the stuff in the bath. Now, it came down to washing her hair.

Being unable to read made it very hard to find out what this 'Shampoo' Elthin spoke about was. Some letters looked quite close to 'Shampoo' but, also, they could have been 'Conditioner'. She'd have to take her chances with this. Picking up the first bottle of soapy liquid she found with an 'S' looking letter on, she squeezed some into her hands and began to rub it into her hair. With all the knots and split ends in her hair, she found it quite the painful experience to try and remove the knots from her hair as well as trying to avoid getting the suds in her eyes. Eventually, she managed to lather her hair enough to call it being reasonably clean. Now, how was she going to get the suds off her hair without getting them in her eyes? She'd have to figure that out like the rest, with good old trial and error.

While looking around the room Elthin wasn't sure how to really. Make up a room for a female before sure the room had the basics a bed, writing desk and a chair, bookshelves and a chest to place books or belongings into. There was even a closet where one would keep there clothes so he left it alone for now and with Lucine's clothes. Still in hand he took them and walked back to the bathroom where Lucine was.

"I'm returning your clothes to you," Elthin said.

He had knocked on the door letting her know it was him. He walked inside avoiding looking at Lucine and placed her clothes over on the counter. Before retreating out of the bathroom where she was still busy he walked down the hallway towards the crystal ball which served as his phone.

While trying to clean the soap suds out of her hair, Lucine heard the door to the bathroom open. Having her head down as she tried to pour some water from the tub over her head, she couldn't really see who it was. Going by basic logic, it had to be the only other person in the house. Time for some more fun,

"So you did want to peek after all?" Lucine slyly joked. "No harm in wanting to see my adorable naked body. Take it in all you want. Just no touching."

It appeared her joke ended how all others did, with the target of the joke leaving rather quickly. Damn...

Elthin intoned the incantation to activate the Stellar energy inside the Communication Foci and entered, via mental communication, the required Constellation coordinates for the Communication Foci in the Magician's Guild Administration office, where the Elder Magician normally spent their time. After the runes around the base of the Foci lit up, the Elder Magician appeared inside the Crystal Ball of the Device.

"Greetings, Elthin. How fares the young girl?" The Elder asked.

Elthin waited for the crystal ball to activate soon when the Stellar energy. Was ready for use he was able to contact the Magician's Guild and was able to talk with the Elder Magician who he had chatted with earlier in the day.

"Greetings, Elder. The girl fares well she was only a little injured with a small gash. In her side that I treated a short while ago, I would say she's a rather weird case someone who likes to play jokes. On people as she did this to me several times tonight" Elthin sighed.

He thought about what else he was about to say.

"On other important news, I have learned that the girl is named Lucine. She told me what she remembered from last night it appears a Magician broke into her house and took her family away. They appeared to be looking for Lucine even going as far to call her a witch. Before they went about setting the house on fire. As we both know Lucine can use magic and I have agreed to take her on as my apprentice." Elthin added.

He let the Elder take in what he told him.

Some silent time later Elthin spoke once more. "I've also agreed to help her find this person along with teaching her swordsmanship and a basic education when the time comes. What I'd like to know is why this Magician was looking for her in the first place and how. Did they know that she could use magic this all sounds rather confusing."

Elthin answered the Elder's question.

"Ah, that's good. Very good." The Elder nodded in response. "I trust you are not familiar with the sense of humor of Slum dwellers? Some may consider it rather...crude and distasteful but, if you've lived in the world they have, you'd understand why it is like that. It is excellent that this ordeal hasn't scarred her that much."

Elthin gave a run-down of his conversations with Lucine.

"That is grave news indeed." The Elder sighed with a shake of his head. "If people are hunting her, then she is not safe wherever she goes. The only people who would know for certain if a person bares innate power would be other Magicians. we may be dealing with Rogue Magicians after all. Witches would not openly announce their presence like that. I trust she will be safe with one who has had previous experience locking blades with Rogue Magicians."

Elthin returned another answer.

"Teaching proper swordsmanship to Slum dwellers will be difficult. They prefer to not hinder their mobility with heavy weaponry and would rather place their trust in Daggers or lighter weapons." The Elder informed Elthin. "One reason she could be being hunted is that they wish for her demise, like most people believe Gifted Girls deserve. Some cannot grasp the concept that Magic is not only reserved for Men and would rather fear and execute what they cannot understand. Such is Human nature. If we are dealing with a Coven, they may want her to add to their ranks to overthrow the Magician's Guilds spread across the lands. There are too many unknown variables at present for an answer to be revealed."

Elthin listened to what the Elder had to say.

"While I have had some dealings with Slum Dwellers before I had normally. Choose to ignore that feature in the so all in all no I do not."

Elthin next listened to the Elder's thoughts on what he had mentioned about Lucine.

"I would have to agree while we don't know yet if this is just the work of one person. Or more than one working in a group it would make things harder. As I believe almost no one can be trusted she will be safe in my care I'll make sure of that" Elthin told him.

The elder went on with his thoughts.

"Yes, Lucine did mention that she was good with a dagger. I believe I have something that she can use" Elthin says as he listens more. "While that may be true what if they were hunting her as a means to capture her and turn her to their side as you mentioned. That would be a worse case option are there any known Coven's that currently with to overthrow the Magician's Guild that I wouldn't know about?"

Questions regarding Covens with usurping intentions were asked.

"Most Covens decided that warring with their peers is unnecessary and place their talents to good use in Villages which do not have access to proper medicine. Like all humans, there are good and evil in Witches as well. There are only three known Covens who are against the Magicians Guilds and their names are still not confirmed. Insignias, however, have been the current means as to which we have identified these groups but, alas, it is not my Virtue to impart this information. We do not want the Citizens to fear another attack, or know of the Covens' targets. What I can say, however, is that they establish their Covens in certain types of ruins. Their usual motivation for decision is the latent knowledge available in these locations and their natural affinity to the Leylines of the world." The Elder explained.

Elthin took all that was said about Covens to heart.

"Would these Covens be within the city here or located somewhere outside the city limits. When was the last Coven attack?" Elthin asked he wasn't liking the fact that there may have been other attacks against people. "Would you know of any ruins that are located close by that would be worth searching out for clues. Why would they want the latent knowledge of the Laylines?" Elthin went on to ask.

Elthin asked a little more about Covens.

"Covens, especially the ones which we need to be wary of, are normally located a good distance away from any large gathering of people, but within enough distance to allow spies to infiltrate and cause unrest. Sometimes, the passive Covens can be within the sewers of large Cities, accessed normally by Manholes dotted around the districts. However, these holes are locked with Magic and can only be opened a certain way, or if the Witch wishes for them to be opened. As for the last Coven attack, there was a Minor raid around eleven years ago. However, this raid was contained within the Slums. Casualties were few, and none of the attackers were harmed. It was like they were just trying to test the strength of our Guard, or gather some information during the Chaos." The Elder explained. "The closest Ruin which has been a Coven base before is the Escher ruins located four days travel from here, just past the Brent Oasis. As for their obsession with Leylines, it should be clear that, during certain phases of the Moon, these Leylines are a font of immeasurable Magical Strength. In regards to their thirst for Knowledge, you, as an explorer of those kinds of things, should know just how great the Lost Generation was."

The Elder explained more about the Covens

"I would have to agree as one would want to be found out. But sometimes being located within the city does have it's advantages if things are played out right. I think it would be a good idea for me to search through the city myself for answers." Elthin the heard about where the closet Ruin was located at. "The Escher ruins that will be my first stop. Yes, I would know about the Lost Generation as I have found some kinds of things in my travels linking certain items and events that. Have had a negative impact on the world as we know it to be linked to them."

After the information about Covens, the Lost Generation became a little more apparent.

"If you are going to search the city, be cautious. We do not want the Citizens to question the Guild or for any harm to come to anyone. Do not try to force your way into information or be too reckless with your means of gathering it. Suspicion should be non-existent if you want to get the best information." The Elder cautioned.

The Lost Generation seemed to be a rather interesting topic.

"Most of the technology we have now came with gratitude from the Lost Generation. All of our records about it have either been wiped or destroyed, like our Ancestors did not want us to find them out. The ruins are the only thing we have now which proves that the Lost Generation did, in fact, exist. No explorer has ever been able to fully understand these ruins or how to reach their depths. The ruins are...alien in their structure and design and seem to be ever changing. We can only dream about what kinds of things can be found in the deepest reaches of these pieces of history."

The Elder spoke a little more.

"I think taking Lucine along with me on my search would help. As she might have some skills that would help me gather more information than just. Doing so alone as normally I'm not one to force my way or get too reckless when seeking things out," Elthin says.

The Lost Generation was talked about more.

"I have found several such Ruins located on my home contentment of Artaria. Even in my searches, I've only been able to gain small bits of knowleadge even when. Exploring them they were too old and as you mentioned their structure and design did always seem to change. We can only hope that whatever is at the bottom of these Ruins can be used for the greater good and not something that. Can lead to another great war I'm sure you remember how bad the last one was?" Elthin asked.

"You wish to take a child on your searches?" The Elder asked in shock. "I'm afraid I cannot allow one with such little experience with her Gifts to be conducting searches against those who may wish to use her for nefarious ends. Perhaps, when she is a little more attuned to her abilities, then I may believe she would be ready to assist in searches."

Talk of the Lost Generation continued.

"Everything in this world can be used for both good and evil." The Elder agreed. "Such is the way of the world. The Discovery of Magic sparked a war and that was only further intensified by the discovery of Relics from the Lost Generation. Some scars of that war still remain, like the fear of Witches and the execution and exile of any female practitioner of Magic, regardless of how they use it."

The Elder seemed not wish for Elthin to take Lucine out on his searches.

"As a means to protect her and also to see if anyone tries anything. But after some more thought on this, it would be a bad idea as. Citizens could get harmed if something bad were to happen and I wouldn't want that to happen. So, I will agree that when she is more attuned with her abilities I will take her with me."

They talked more on the Lost Generation.

"Yes, everything can be used for both good and evil," Elthin says. "I have come across some groups of Rouge Magicians how have had access to some old relics from the Lost Generation. While these were only small ones I would say. That in the lower depths of the ruins in the world would have relics that are far more destructive in nature. I remember hearing about one suck relic that was once used to wipe an entire kingdom off the map in the span of a single night. Those old scars do still remain from fear to even marks upon the land itself."

Elthin agreed to keep Lucine out of harms way until she was better prepared.

"Until she has learned to mask her presence from other Magicians, defend herself from their attacks and, potentially, have some way to retaliate or escape, I believe that she should stay inside your House until she can do those. Masking her presence would need to be the first thing you teach her once she has mastered control." The Elder suggested.

Good and evil intentions were debated further.

"The destruction of the Gott Kingdom was one of the cornerstones for the Great War. It was initially done as a show of power, more for intimidation factor than declaring war, but it soon escalated from there. We still cannot access the ruins of Gott just yet due to the aftereffects of the Relic. The toxins still remain in the air, even after so long. Anyone who gets closer than the mountain range bordering the crater quickly succumbs to an incurable illness and perishes within weeks. Some even say that they turn into hideous monsters and kill the rest of the exploration party before retreating into the crater, like they believe it to be their home. Not even Magic can protect people from those fumes or the creatures that inhabit the crater and the surrounding peninsula."

The Elder wished for Lucine to stay inside Elthin's house. Until she was better able to defend herself and hiding her presence from other Magicians.

"My home has it's own masking field so only powerful. Magicians would be able to locate her here but I will teach her how to hide herself. But she can't stay here all the time she would be needed to leave the house for clothes shopping later or other basic things when they come by." Elthin said.

They spoke more about Good and evil intentions.

"Wasn't the destruction of the Gott Kingdom caused by the magical relic. Moonshine, Executioner of Invocation it happened to be a staff of vast destructive power? I heard that the staff was lost within the ruins of the Gott. Though whether the staff still remains there or not is a mystery I do know that I had wished to travel to the ruins of Gott but wasn't able to closer due to the illness or roaming monsters. That is also why if any other relics are found they must be either disposed of or given over to the right people."

While Elthin wished to discuss the Lost Generation further. With the Elder which he was finding rather fun, he had other important matters to attend to.

"While I would like to talk with you further on this subject Elder. I'm afraid I will have to cut our chat off at this point as I need to check in on Lucine. I thank you for your time and all that you have told me." Elthin says before bidding farewell to the Elder and powering down the crystal ball.

"As long as you keep her close by and allow her into your personal masking spell, she can have her presence hidden as well. However, you will need to keep physical contact with her for the spell to be channeled to her as well." The Elder informed Elthin. "This taxes the defending Magician quite considerably, so I will not recommend you keep it up for too long. Do what needs to be done and then head back as soon as possible."

A recounting of the Incidents surrounding the Gott Kingdom was given.

"There has been no concrete evidence that the Relic which caused the destruction was a staff, we only have vague witness reports to attest to that. However, that is the popular belief, next to the idea that it was a Spear. All we know is that the attacker flew over Gott in an Airship and released the Relic while above it before pushing the Vessel's engine to its limits to escape the blast zone. They only just managed to clear the area before it was decimated." The Elder answered.

Elthin excused himself from the conversation, stating that he needed to check up on Lucine.

"As would I, though the Girl is more important than any ramblings." The Elder bid Elthin goodbye. "Stay safe."

The communication foci powered down.

After Elthin had finished speaking with the Elder. He remembered back to their last few words before he had left. Everything was said were indeed things that he would need to do also he wanted to study up more on the Gott Kingdom. Wanting to learn if the weapon was truly a spear and not a staff. Walking down the hallway he had made his way towards the washroom where Lucine was.

Knocking on the door once then twice he spoke up.

"It's me Elthin are you just about done I think it'd be best if we got going?" Elthin asked.

Lucine had just about finished in the bath when she heard a knock at the bathroom door. So, he knocked this time? That's a pity...

"Just a bit, I'm just getting out." Lucine answered as the sound of water sloshing around was heard from the other side of the door. "You can come in if you want. I'm not sure how to drain this thing."

Lucine mentioned that she was getting out of the tub. Elthin wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to enter the room or not. So he remained outside of the door "I'll take care of that when your out and dressed again" Elthin told her.

He waited on her to get dressed and leave the washroom.

Sadly, Elthin's response wasn't what Lucine wanted to here. Damn... Foiled once more!

"Okay, I'll hurry it along then." Lucine answered as the sounds of movement echoed from the other side of the door.

Around five minutes later, Lucine opened the door to the bathroom, surprisingly, fully dressed. She was still toweling her hair down, though.

"Thanks for cleaning my clothes. They're much softer now." Lucine told Elthin, her voice muffled by the towel. "I heard you talking to someone while I was in the bath. Mind telling me who it was? Unless, of course, you were talking to yourself, like some Magicians do."

Elthin waited and five minutes later Lucine had left the bathroom. She was once more fully dressed which he was glad about.

"You're welcome it's the least I could do. As for who I was talking to I was talking to one of the Elder's of the Magician's Guild" Elthin told her.

He wasn't sure if he should fully tell her just what they were talking about. In time, he would but not right now "I believe that this evening we should also go shopping. For a weapon for you to use to help defend yourself, you mentioned you were good with a dagger so we should start there." Elthin says.

Elthin informed Lucine who he was talking to. She didn't appear too shocked by the revelation but curiosity was clear on her face, when she pulled the towel away from her hair.

"What were you talking about?" Lucine asked. "And don't try the old 'just general boring adult stuff' on me, as I won't fall for it."

Elthin pushed, once more, the prospect of weaponry onto Lucine. She just smiled in response to this.

"Nobles are so dense." She giggled. "Guess you didn't check my clothes before cleaning them after all."

Upon that statement, Lucine reached underneath her dress and pulled out a small metallic object. It didn't look like anything interesting at all. It looked more like a trinket a child would carry around. With a click of a button on the side a blade shot our of the tip of the object. A disguised switchblade? It didn't look too threatening but it could still cause some serious damage. Lucine pressed the button once more and the blade popped back into the casing.

"Gotta protect myself someway, huh?" Lucine smirked.

Lucine still wanted to know what Elthin and the Elder had been talking about.

"We were talking about the Gott Kingdom" Elthin mentioned which was just part of it.

"I didn't think it would have been wise," Elthin says as he sees Lucine reach under her dress. To pull out a small metallic object he saw that it was a small switchblade. "Well, you do have to protect yourself and all but I think it would also be good to have another weapon. As the one you have can be used as a surprise."

They both soon left Elthin's home and once outside started to head. Towards the marketplace where every Noble did their shopping.

Elthin gave a broad answer to what the conversation was about. Lucine didn't seem too impressed at the vagueness of the answer.

"You mean the 'Cursed Kingdom', as we call it where I'm from?" Lucine asked. "The one full of crazy people and illness?"

Elthin still insisted that Lucine had a better weapon. More weapons can't hurt, it seems.

"Guess so." Lucine shrugged.

Both Elthin and Lucine headed out of the house and into the Noble's Market. As expected, Elthin got a few filthy glares from the other Nobles at the sight of him with a Slum Girl. Some Noble woman even fainted at the prospect of them being together. Of course, Lucine took full delight in the attention and decided to play a few jokes on the Nobles, mainly including lewd hand gestures and suggestive winks, while also pulling up the corner of her dress when one Noble stared at her for longer than she wanted him to.

"I've gotta say, it's fun playing with you rich people." Lucine commented with a beaming grin.

"Yes that very one, maybe in time we can go in search of the area. Or at least, how far we can travel before having to turn back."

As they entered the Noble's Market Elthin saw some of the other Noble's glaring at him. He saw as one woman fainted as he looked over he saw Lucine was playing some jokes on the people. Watching her he soon stopped her for a moment when they were away from the others.

"Is that really wise to do, what if one of them could be the person. Who tried to do you harm earlier you're just giving yourself away to them?"

As usual, Elthin killed the fun Lucine was having before she could really enjoy it.

"Lighten up a little. I doubt any of these pampered blooms could even so much as create a small flame." Lucine complained. "I can take care of myself."

Lucine, being born and raised in the roughest parts of the City, didn't really take kindly to be coddled by anyone.

Elthin was just wanting to take things slowly. Anyone here could have been the enemy it would be best to be on the safe side.

"Fine, fine" Elthin sighed.

The pair started up again and soon came upon a weapon shop and walked inside.

After the dispute of ideals, Elthin headed over to a weapon shop.

Once Elthin entered, the clerk at the counter looked up from the book they were reading.

"Greetings, Sir." The Clerk said, sounding as pretentious as most Nobles. They then noticed the fact that Lucine was with Elthin. They were about to inform him that Children were not allowed in weapon stores until they saw the Slum clothes Lucine was wearing. "You appear to have picked up a...rodent...on your walk here. I would check your pockets if I were you."

The Clerk then turned to Lucine, disgust evident in their face at talking to a Slum girl.

"Begone with you, vixen, lest I call the Guards on you." The Clerk ordered. "Your wiles will not work on me."

Once they entered the weapon shop Elthin was greeted by the clerk. "Greetings," Elthin said back to the clerk right as they noticed Lucine and spoke up about her. He could see the look of disgust on his face.

"Actually sir, she is with me and I can promise you that no trouble will happen in your store." Elthin turned to look at Lucine "isn't that right Lucine?" Elthin asked.

Before turning to look back at the clerk.

Elthin tried to explain the situation to the Clerk, but it appeared to fall on deaf ears.

"A Noble, consorting with a temptress?!" The Clerk exclaimed in shock. "Unthinkable! Impossible!"

Lucine just kept out of sight by standing behind Elthin. She clasped the folds of his shirt between her fingers.

"I hate these crazy people." She quietly commented. "Let's just get out of here. Let's get get the stuff and go. I don't want to be here if the Guards arrive. Maybe it'll be better if I wait outside of the next store?"

Lucine's mood seemed stoic, but it was evident that something was getting at her. She hadn't tried to mess with anyone upon coming into this store.

Elthin just sighed after he had tried to explain things to the clerk, Who didn't seem to believe him soon he heard Lucine speak up once again.

"Okay, okay we will head to the clothing store and you can wait outside" Elthin whispered.

The pair both left the store and walked down a short ways. They soon came upon a clothing store and Elthin walked inside after leaving Lucine to wait outside.

After the ranting from the Clerk, Elthin took Lucine out of the Weapon shop, leaving the Clerk to bring out every scrap of potpourri and Incense they could find to 'cleanse the slum's taint' from their store.

"Be quick. You know my size, don't you. I don't want to hang around any longer than needed." Lucine informed Elthin as he headed into the clothing store, leaving her by herself to wait outside.

Before Elthin had gone into the store fully he cursed himself for forgetting something. However, Lucine soon brought it up moments later.

"I'm afraid I wouldn't know your size" Elthin admitted.

Soon after Lucine told him what it was he walked back into the store.

"Just get the 'petite' size. That's what Nobles call children's clothing. 'Petite Young Miss' will be a better fit, as that's aimed more and girls my age. Try to keep the colours as basic as possible. Gaudy doesn't suite me. Darker colours are better as well because, well, I'd just look strange in light coloured clothing." Lucine informed Elthin.

Elthin headed into the clothing store to select the Clothing for Lucine.

Elthin played over in his mind everything that Lucine had told him. About what to pick up for her wanting to make things quick. He looked around for the store clerk for some help in deciding on what to pick up.

Once more something else popped into his mind that he was forgetting something. But wasn't sure on just what it was so he forgot about it.

While things seemed mostly quiet outside, perhaps the thing Elthin was forgetting was more important that it seemed. While concealing Lucine's aura with magic, that doesn't disguise the fact that she sticks out like a sore thumb among the rich and wealthy Nobles. Also, in this district, Magicians from the Guild are sure to mill around. All things seemed quiet, for now, or so it seemed...

But for how long?

Soon enough Elthin found the clerk and asked for some help. He told them that he was looking for some new clothes for his daughter. As he wanted the very best for her he also mentioned that he was looking for something in a 'petite' size and of a dark color. The clerk told him they had a few things in those colors. And went on to show Elthin just where they were working over he saw various clothing types in Lucine's size.

But wasn't sure on what color she would like. Soon enough he picked out something in black that he thought would look good on her. Followed by two more black sets of clothes even going along and picked out a dark colored cloak for her as well.

While Elthin flitted around the Clothing store like a scared bird, trying to pick as many things which he believed Lucine would like, all was silent outside. Perhaps his worry was in vain? Or maybe there was just-

"Filthy witch! What do you think you're doing here!" An angry male voice from outside shouted in disgust, "Trying to burn another place down?!"

"Hey, Teach, let me take her on! I've wanted to try out my new spells." A younger voice, possibly of a young male, followed the commanding tone of the older man.

"What tha hell are ya talkin' 'bout!" Lucine's voice followed the previous two. She didn't sound as refined as she did when talking to Elthin. She probably slipped back to her Dweller Accent. "I ain't no Witch! Get ya head on straight, ya stupid brat!"

"The fiend speaks in tongues!" The older Male countered. "That's possession if ever I heard one!"

They seem to have gathered quite the crowd outside, as jeers for Lucine and cheers for the other two echoed around the Marketplace.

With everything picked out for Lucine Elthin headed up to pay for things. Once more that feeling of him having forgotten something entered his mind. Yet he still wasn't sure on what it was so he ignored it at the counter. Elthin used some gold coins to pay for the clothes and cloak for Lucine and then headed out of the store. When he exited the store he was greeted by a large crowd of people.

"What's going on here?" Elthin asked.

Having not heard what was said earlier but from looking around. He could see that two people were facing off against Lucine.

As Elthin left the store in a hurry, the Clerk followed him shortly afterwards to check on all the ruckus. When outside, it was clear just who was trying to execute Lucine. The older man's voice belonged to the red-headed male from the scene of the inferno, the one who left due to his hate for the slums. The younger voice belonged to a young boy, no older than Lucine, dressed in the finer clothing of young Nobles. Like his master, he also had short red hair but his eyes were brown.

Upon hearing Elthin's exclamation, Lucine turned towards him.

"So 'ere ya finally are! Go talk some sense inta those there peacocks!" Lucine ordered Elthin. "Or, would ya rather let me att'em? I aven't had ta swing ma blades around taday, an' I'm dyin' ta do so!"

"Are you affiliated with this...vile creature?!" The Young man demanded Elthin. "Or are you there to take what's rightfully my Pupil's mark?!"

"Quit talking and let me torch the girl!" The boy interrupted. "She clearly wants a fight and it's a fight I'm willing to give."

As Elthin picked up on more details he knew he'd seen the red-headed man before. Having seen him at the scene of the inferno early today. He also saw the young boy who had the same hair color as his master and knew that the young boy was his student. Next Lucine spoke up once more at him.

"No, that's something I don't want to see here," Elthin told her.

The young man then spoke up asking if he was with Lucine. Elthin knew he could lie but that would upset Lucine and he didn't want that.

"Yes, I'm affiliated with this girl, and I'm afraid that your pupil will just have to find another mark." Elthin pointed out he had moved closer to Lucine.

"You will not lay a hand on her!" Elthin snapped.

His usual calm attitude had changed into that of the state of mind he used. When a fight my goes down he spoke up again to the boy. "If you try anything out on her anything at all you will be sorry" a cold wind blew across the plaza before it vanished. Elthin then turned his attention back to the boy's teacher.

"Who might you be and you pupil be?"

Elthin prevented Lucine from cutting the vanity out of the other Master and Student. She grumbled in disapproval but didn't disobey.

"If you are a Witch sympathiser, then you shall burn alongside her." The Young Man calmly replied. "Make peace with whichever Heretical Gods you worship, as I will be sending you to them soon."

The boy's moxie soon declined upon attracting the attention of a more powerful Magician. He quickly moved beside his Master before anything could start. Elthin then demanded that the pair identified themselves.

"Introductions for introductions, I would normally insist however, as you are soon to become suitable training materials for my Pupil and I, it is only common courtesy that you should know the names of your executors." The Young man answered with a confident smile. "Lord Arundal of House Karst, and his Pupil, Young Master Frantz of House Rulm. Might I request you identify yourselves as well, so we know what to carve into your Tombstones?"

The young man before Elthin was a rude and annoying little man. He would need to be brought down a level or two given time. "If you even try anything you will regret it" Elthin replied back he quickly looked back at Lucine. Then back at the two people before him, the boy had moved behind his master. It seemed like the boy was just all talk and a coward if someone more powerful than him spoke to him.

The young man then introduced himself and his Pupil.

"Training materials you think quite highly of yourself don't you? You're nothing more than a bully who needs to be taught a lesson." Elthin told him Arundal then wished to know the names of both Elthin and Lucine."Lord Elthin of House Veldhar, and his Pupil, Lucine." It then came upon Elthin that he had never learned what Lucine's last name was. Another thought then came to Elthin's mind and he soon spoke it.

"You spoke of training earlier than if that is what a low life thug. Such as yourself wants then I challenge you Arundal to a duel?" Elthin laid out the challenge. Normally Elthin didn't go around challenging other Magician's to duels. But he didn't like the way Arundal or Frantz were treating Lucine and he thought it would be a much. Better idea to put the young lord in his place for being such a jerk.

Elthin threw back a retort, bringing in the ego of the other Master.

"I seek nothing more than the cleanse this world of the corruption bought about by the lesser gender practicing something which is far beyond their knowledge capacity." Arundal simply answered. "A woman's place is the Home, and a girl's is beside her."

"Girls are too stupid to grasp magic." Frantz piped up, agreeing with his master.

"Scared that a girl is smarter than your dumb ass?" Lucine grinned back. Her speech seems to have returned to normal. "Better hit the streets if you don't want to be schooled by a 'dumb girl'. I could kick your ass into next week without so much as breaking a sweat."

Lucine's dig at the pair was soon to be met with retaliation if Elthin hadn't spoken up again, challenging Arundal to a duel.

"If it is a fight you want then, by all means, petition for one. I have no objections to putting fools in their place." Arundal confidently replied. "I trust you know the procedure, or are you lapsing into forgetfulness, considering your lust towards one of such low birth?"

"I challenge the stupid girl to a fight!" Frantz cut in, following in his Master's footsteps.

"On my terms only." Lucine responded with a grin. "Just weapons. No magic stuff. Sword to sword only."

Elthin listened to everything that was said by the other party members.

"Cleanse the world of corruption I'd say you would have to start with yourself." Elthin then went on to laugh at the mention of the woman's place being in the home. While this was usually true it was also known that woman did serve as either Magicians or members of the army. "Girl's and woman are allowed to do as they please."

Arundal then agreed to the duel followed by Frantz wanting to challenge Lucine.

"I know how to petition one and I would have to say the same for you. Tell me have you engaged in any sexual acts with young Frantz here it seems like you have?" Elthin says in a way to try and anger Arundal. He then turned to Lucine "is that really what you want to do?"

Elthin returned the jab at sexuality and sexual preferences. This only further fueled his anger.

"You question the Honor of my Family?!" Arundal replied, anger clear in his tone. "We are not predators to anything but the corrupt!"

The jab seemed to go straight over Frantz's head, but Lucine fully understood it and began to laugh.

"So you do have a sense of humor." She giggled to Elthin. "Good one there. I must be rubbing off on you."

Elthin questioned Lucine's resolve to fight.

"Are you kidding me? He's practically a stick. I doubt he can even hold a sword, let alone use one." Lucine replied with confidence. "He don't stand a chance against me."

His jab seemed to have had the right effect on Arundal it made him mad.

"Whatever you say" Elthin wasn't really in the mood to argue more with Arundal. He heard Lucine giggle it was a nice sound maybe she was right after all he just smiled. For a moment before it left his face and he looked back her way.

"Then we will petition a battle between the two of you," Elthin said. He wasn't sure if he was really happy or not with Lucine wanting to battle Frantz. While he could understand the reasons why she wanted to do so. He was also worried about what if something were to happen to her during the battle what if she got hurt?

"I believe our business here is done" Elthin then started to leave and mentioned for Lucine to follow.

Elthin finished the encounter and began to take his leave, with Lucine following shortly after him.

"You will regret ever opposing me!" Arundal shouted after the pair. "By the Honor of my House, I will pass judgement on you!"

"He still hasn't shut up?!" Lucine sighed. "All talk and no action."

The pair began to head home. Today had been eventful, to say the least. But, was it over yet?

Elthin ignored that last part of what Arundal had to say as the pair. Left the Noble's shopping area and headed for home the pair traveled in silence until they reached. Elthin's home and entered inside of it he placed the stuff he had bought for Lucine on a chair.

"I've picked out some clothes that I hope you might like. I've also bought you a cloak to wear if you wish to wear one" Elthin says.

He took a seat in one of the chairs to let Lucine look through what he had bought her.

"Also if it's not too much trouble can you tell me your last name?" Elthin asked.

The pair arrived home and Lucine began to look through the clothes she was purchased.

"Got the dark request spot on but colour variation could have been a little better. Whatever, clothes are clothes. Size seems alright too. Cloaks could come in handy if we go shopping again. Don't want a repeat of the Clergyman and Altar boy scenario. Lots of outer clothes, however, no underwear. Guess that's workable. Footwear is missing as well but shoes can be cleaned and polished so it's not really a big deal." Lucine began to list off before Elthin asked her a question. "Nothing as notable as a Noble's family name so I don't see why it's relevant. After all, I may be an orphan, if things went badly. Family names aren't really important where I'm from so I've never really had to give it out. First name will do, and family name can be whatever you want it to be."

Lucine then went on to give her thoughts on what she thought about. What had been bought for her and Elthin listened.

As he had never really bought clothes for a girl before. He was rather confused but slowly came to understand just what Lucine was speaking about. She then went on to say that it was okay to give her what ever family name he wanted to use.

"Would it be okay with you if say I were to adopt you into my family's House?" Elthin went on to ask.

"As long as it's only figuratively until I know exactly what happened to my family, I'm not fussed either way." Lucine answered as she looked through the clothes again. "Wouldn't want to just up and desert the ones who raised me."

Lucine placed some of the clothes against her and looked at herself in the mirror. They looked quite nice on her and complimented her very well. However, pairing the dresses with the cloak seemed to look a little bleak and depressing, like she was about to attend a funeral, however, they still looked rather nice.

"Girls clothes sorted. Now, on to problem two." Lucine began. "People still call me a Witch because I can use magic naturally. Witches, like the queer peacock pointed out, aren't well received in this town, or anywhere for that matter. When I can better control my power, things will be a little easier in the general populace, but skilled Magicians could still point me out. Now, onto the solution. Boys are free to show off their magic tricks without question. At present, I guess I don't look much like a girl so...you get the idea."

Lucine only wanted it to be for a while until she learned the truth about her family. "I understand how you want things to be."

Elthin watched as Lucine took some of the clothes and placed them. Against herself to check on how they looked before going on to talk some more.

"Then you would want to look like a boy to make things easier?" Elthin asked. He understood what Lucine was saying as it would be easier for her to move around and not always being pointed out.

"Guess I've not really got another choice." Lucine grumbled. "Wouldn't want to cause too much trouble than I already am. Your clothes are, obviously, far too big for me. I'd rather keep all my hair, but a trim might be needed to finish the disguise. Downside is, what if I need to pee while out? I can't just waltz into the Girl's room and I wouldn't dream of entering the Boy's room. Guess I've got to suck it up and go with the flow."

"You do have a choice in the matter you don't have to go that way if you don't want to" Elthin told her.

He didn't want Lucine to do something that she didn't want to do. Sure going around like a boy would make things far easier it would also cause problems. Like how she pointed out about going to the bathroom it wasn't right about having a girl use the Boy's room.

"Um that can be talked about at some other time" Elthin was a bit embarrassed about talking about that subject. So he thought on something else to talk about.

"About tomorrow I was thinking we could start your magic training. Followed by some weapons training as well as I like to see just how good you are with a dagger. After that it would be good to start to search for clues on what happened to your family and trying to find this rouge magician who's after you."

Elthin let all that sink in before speaking again.

"Is there anything that you'd want to add onto what we do tomorrow?" Elthin asked.

"If you don't want every Magician in the city looking to kill you for harboring a Witch in your house, then I really don't have a choice." Lucine answered, sounded a little annoyed by the supposed options she has.

Elthin proposed the idea for tomorrow's lessons.

"You're the teacher, you pick what you want me to do. I'll be a good student and go with it." Lucine simple replied. "I'd like to get a rundown of what the Magician's guild in this town is trying to go for. Plus, a floor plan would be nice for when I start there, which I'm positive will happen when I'm ready."

Elthin thought over what Lucine had to say he could tell that she was annoyed. By what little choices she had he didn't want her to be like this. But there was really little that he could do to help her out.

"Well, going that way I'd need to go buy you more clothes as I currently. Have nothing here that would fit you I think there might be another way we can go about things."

Lucine spoke once more and Elthin listened.

"We will need to hit the Magician's guild so that's a top thing for tomorrow. As for a floor plan I could give you the tour tomorrow as well" Elthin says.

Elthin agreed to the tour of the Magician's guild.

"I think we'll need to fix the gender problem before that. I don't think they'll well receive a Slum Girl." Lucine commented. "Clothing isn't really that much of an Issue, you're talking to someone who used to live in the Slums here. I've got a few friends down there who've got hand-me-downs which might do for now."

The gender problem still needed to be worked on.

"Then we would need to trim your hair and maybe dye your hair as well" Elthin suggested.

Elthin thought over some other things.

"I should also give you more of a tour of my home as you've already seen. Some things like the kitchen, bedrooms, washrooms etc there are still some other areas of the manor that you haven't seen yet."

"Dyeing my hair won't be needed. As you've seen, red hair is pretty common around here. It'll be a shame to cut it short but it must be done." Lucine answered. "Why would I need a tour of this house? All I really need to know about are the bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen and training areas. The rest isn't of much interest to me."

"Because you don't know where the bathrooms or training areas are. As there is another area of the manor I would need to show to you. Once we have started on your education but that can wait for a while and all."

There was a quiet time for a while.

"I know where one bathroom and bedroom are. Why do I need to know where the others are? This house can't be that big, can it?" Lucine retorted. "Either way, we can get to the later thingie you mentioned when I know what this...thing...I have have is and how to use it."

After checking through all the clothes, Lucine picked them up.

"So, where's my bedroom? These'll get dusty if they're not stored right." Lucine asked. "Also, I'd like to give the room that 'lived in' feel I like."

"This house is fairly big as there is another level above and below us. The training area would be below us but you will see more of that tomorrow."

Lucine then picked up her clothes and wanted to see her room.

"Follow me please," Elthin says.

He soon led her down the hallway past a few more rooms until they came upon. The room that would be used for Lucine he opened the door and walked inside. Showing her the room with its large bed a writing desk was in the right corner of the room. A chest was at the foot of the bed which was empty as things could be placed inside. A closet was on the left side of the room for where Lucine could put her clothes.

Elthin briefly informed Lucine of the size of the house. He then led her to where her room would be. Upon entering it, Lucine took a quick look around and placed her clothes neatly in the closet, hung as they were in the shop.

"Not too sparse and not too full, just how I like it." Lucine commented on the room. "Just enough space for me."

Lucine began to look around the room some more, taking in all she could of it and making mental notes of where she may store some stuff.

"Will need that personal touch, though, but that can wait."

"You can change the room to how you want it to be. I only ask that you don't go overboard on how you want it to be."

Elthin watched as Lucine walked around the room.

"How could a Slum Girl go overboard?! We don't even know what luxury is." Lucine chuckled. "The worst I could possibly bring in here is a boy, and that's at a push."

Lucine, once she was happy with the layout of the room, headed back to Elthin.

"Let's get this tour out of the way as soon as possible." She requested. "I don't want to be bored to death after the training tomorrow."

"You completely trash it I have no idea as I normally don't have girls like you inside my house."

Lucine then wanted to get the tour over with.

"Then we will start first with the training area" Elthin mentioned for Lucine to follow him.

"Poor Elthin." Lucine sounded a little mocking in her sincerity. "Never had a girl in his house. Too obsessed with relics. Maybe you'll find a nice Mummy one day and settle down with them?"

Lucine returned to her comedic routine.

Elthin began to lead Lucine to the training area.

"I've had girl's in my house before just not one's your age" Elthin then decided to get back a Lucine on her last part. "Oh, can you be my Mummy I promise to treat you nicely we can even have many children together."

Elthin returned to his own routine,

They soon arrived at a door and he opened it to reveal a set of stairs leading down. They both walked down the steps until the reached a vast large open space. The basement of training area of Elthin's manor was large and I mean very large. The center of the room was where the training ground was located it looked to be the size of a large open courtyard. Where people could move around freely by doing any sort of movements or training with the various weapons located around the room. Swords. shields, daggers, bows and arrows and any sort of weapon one could thing over Elthin had a copy of.

Elthin literally interpreted the last part of Lucine's comment, causing her to falter a little before answering.

"Ew! Gross! I meant 'Mummy' as in the bandaged dead ruler kind, not a literal 'Mummy'." Lucine quickly answered. "It's not funny if I have to explain it."

Elthin took Lucine to the Training Grounds, which looked as daunting as they sounded. It covered at least the entirety of the house and even some of the outer streets, maybe. There were nearly every weapon in existence down here to be used to fight with. It must have cost a small fortune, even by Noble's standards, to make a area this large and well equipped.

"Wouldn't wanna get lost down here in the dark." Lucine commented, not sure how to take the size of the place.

Elthin didn't answer Lucine again on the whole Mummy thing.

"That would not be a good thing to have happen. This will also be used for you magic training as well for you can cast minor spells down here and not worry. About blowing something up as the latest wards have been placed through out the room. To protect not only us, but the house and others from harm. We are just not able to cast large spells and would need to be at either the Magician's guild or out in the land away from the city."

Elthin then led Lucine over towards where the real daggers he owned were. There were all kinds of different daggers ranging from small to large. Several were from his home Continent of Artaria while others were from another Continent which Lucine had never seen before.

Disinterested in the warding of the place, Lucine's interest soon piqued when she came across the dagger collection. She began to look over each dagger that took her interest, picking them up before eyeing them over and testing the weight of them in her hands. She especially took interest in a curved dagger with several runes on the hilt and some crossing the shaft of the blade. She looked over the edges of these particular daggers to see just how sharp they were.

Most of the daggers Lucine bared an interest in were the cruelly shaped ones, like the sort Assassins are commonly presumed to carry. The sort of daggers that, not only cut, but rip and tear the insides of a person if they're pulled out after a slight twist. Not the sort of weapon a girl would normally carry, of course.

"Nice collection here." Lucine commented. "Would love to try some of these out."

Elthin could tell by the way that Lucine looked at the daggers that. She was interested in them this made him feel happy in an odd sort of way. After a few more moments he led her away from them passing by several other sorts of weapons. Then leading her back up the stairs into the main part of the manor. They passed by several other rooms which were just the normal sort Elthin's bedroom, Lucine's the bathroom which he pointed out to her. As this was much different than the washroom that she had used earlier.

"You will be able to try those weapons out soon enough" Elthin told her at last. After he had showed her the bathroom they passed another room which was a relic room. Filled with nothing more than old artifacts that Elthin had found on his journeys across the world. Next they started up the stairs to the second level of the manor.

After a good look at the Daggers, Elthin led Lucine around the Manor some more, pointing out rooms of interest along the way. All the different rooms for different things just showed how affluent the Nobles were to be able to afford so many rooms for things would could be squeezed into one or omitted altogether. The bathroom, which was also one of the rooms, seemed obsolete to Lucine, considering the fact that there were technically portable versions of them in the form of Chamber Pots. She couldn't quite grasp the concept of sacrificing a whole room for something which could just be tucked under a bed and emptied into the streets the next day. Nobles had weird ways of doing things. Learning the difference between the 'Bathroom' and 'Washroom' was rather unnecessary, in Lucine's opinion.

Elthin began to lead Lucine up the stairs to see the second floor of the Mansion.

Upon reaching the second floor of the Manor if one were to look around. They would first notice that only a few doors could be seen about three actually the first door. Led to the library which took up one whole section of the floor. Elthin only pointed out that behind the door was the library he didn't open the door or anything knowing. That Lucine wouldn't be interested in seeing what else was inside.

The door to the left led to Elthin's personal office. Where he conducted private meetings and kept the most important finds he had found on his travels across the world. Locked up inside of that room the third door led outside into a small enclosed balcony. This area gave a perfect view of the surrounding city and the vast desert beyond. On clear days, one could barely make out the mountains in the far distance. Another good thing about the balcony was that one didn't have to worry about anyone looking in on you.

The second floor of the Manor was filled with uninteresting stuff. A library, office and balcony. Nothing worth investigating unless the person in question could read, or was severely bored and nothing else was working to stave off the boredom. Overall, it was a place Lucine would go if she wanted to pass some time wandering around aimlessly.

Soon enough the tour of the Manor was done and Elthin took. Lucine back to her room as he had nothing else planned for the evening. "While I'm not sure what time you wake up in the morning I would like to begin our training at 9 in the morning after a good morning meal." Elthin explained wondering if Lucine would be okay with this.

After the tour, Elthin took Lucine back to her assigned room. He then posed the option of starting training at 9am.

"Back in the slums, we got up with the sun and went to bed with it." Lucine answered. "Kind of hard to sleep with a giant ball of blindingly bright fire blasting through a broken down wooden window frame. Getting up at around eight in the morning is considered a lie-in."

"Well for now you no longer have to worry about. Having a giant ball of blinding fire blasting in your face whenever you wake up in the morning. Unless that was something you enjoyed perhaps you got a nice tan?" Elthin joked. Once again showing that rare side of himself that he didn't often show to anyone. But it was then agreed upon that eight in the morning would be the best time to begin things.

'I will see you in the morning' Elthin then let Lucine be and headed to his room.

Elthin, once again, tried to make a joke.

"Really. I guess that could be right. After all, we do live in a desert, so being tanned is quite common." Lucine answered. "Guess my skin colour comes from those sleepless mornings, and is not hereditary."

Perhaps, due to where Elthin came from, seeing a person as dark as Lucine was would normally connote a good tan. However, in this current place, dark skin was common due to the centuries of living under the blazing sun.

Elthin then excused himself from Lucine's room.

"Guess so." Lucine answered. She then began to sort the bedroom out to suit her tastes.

Elthin a moment later entered into his room and shut the door. Then a few moments later after undressing into his nightwear he climbed into bed. As he lay there for a few minutes before drifting off the sleep he began to think about what the future would hold for both him and Lucine. He was taking a big risk in caring for a Slum girl like her and from the ordeal in the Noble's marketplace earlier today there was going to be many more hardships for the pair in the coming future.

After spending a while sorting the room out to suit her liking, Lucine began to get ready to turn in for the day herself. Today had been hectic, to say the least, but was this the worst it was going to get? Would she face more hardships after awakening to this...power? Thinking about it was going to solve nothing. Only action bought results in her old life, and she expected the 'High Life' to be no different.

After thinking deeply about everything, Lucine began to let exhaustion take her away into the next day, where her new life would officially begin. The old Lucine died in the fire which took her house, as far as she was concerned, and it was now the New Lucine's time to rise from the ashes of her old life, like a Phoenix chick hatching from the flaming ashes of its parent's corpse. Would she blaze on for years to come and burn her mark into this world, or will she fizzle out and leave nothing but smoke behind? Only time will tell...


	2. Book 1 Guiding Fire

**Book 1 - Chapter 1: Guiding Fire**

After a short while, Elthin had fallen asleep and the rest of the night was. Uneventful for him but a couple of times he woke up in the middle of the night. Just to check in on Lucine using his magic to hide the fact he was doing so not wanting her to know. He was checking up on her when he did he found that she was sleeping peacefully or at least. The way most people slept unless people in the slums slept differently than those in the Noble section of town.

Morning came soon after and Elthin was the first to awaken. He got up out of bed and dressed in a blue silk shirt and black traveling pants. Over these Elthin had put on a dark blue robe covered with small white stairs. It wasn't the sort of clothes Elthin normally wore when he woke up in the morning as usually he'd just wear a robe but with Lucine here he didn't. Want to take any chances of her seeing him nearly naked so he dressed himself up.

After leaving his room he headed into the kitchen to make a meal for them both.

During the evening, Elthin checked up on Lucine a couple of times. Sometimes, she was sleeping as peacefully as expected but, on some occasions, she seemed a little restless, tossing, turning and whimpering in her sleep. Perhaps she was dreaming about the Incident yesterday, or, perhaps, she was dreaming about something entirely different. Either way, her sleep was interrupted by bouts of this restless behavior. While it didn't seem to be interrupting her rest that much, at present, it may be a precursor to something else.

When the morning came, the covers on Lucine's bed were thrown every way possible and looked nothing like the neatly made sleeping place it was the previous evening. Lucine slowly began to open her eyes as the light seeped in from the crack in the curtain over her window. In her sleep daze, she took one look at the mess her covers were in and groaned quietly. That'll be hard to clean up. After the haze of sleep faded, something else caught her attention. Was it cold in this room, or was it just her? Wait...how could it be cold if they're in the middle of a Desert? And was her bed...damp? Was she sweating tons in the night? If she was, why was only her lower half damp? Oh no...it can't be...

In a panic, Lucine looked under the covers of her bed and, sure enough, a small map-like patch could be seen on her sheets. This can't be happening! Her first night in a new home and she does this?! What would Elthin think? Did she even want him to find out? No way! Not happening.

Wanting to be rid of the evidence as soon as possible, Lucine quickly stripped both her bed and herself down and bundled everything up in a heap. She hefted the large mass of cloth out of her bedroom and quickly began to recount the tour of the house from the previous day. Having a good memory, she managed to find the one room she was looking for. At least, she hoped it was the right room. Leaving the mass of soiled garments and covers hidden in the room, Lucine headed back to her bedroom as quickly as she could. She didn't mind being seen naked by another, but the connotations of being found in such a state was something she didn't want to risk. Thankfully, Elthin seemed elsewhere at present, which gave Lucine just enough time to leave what she believed to be the room for cleaning clothes and stealthily make her way to the Washroom to clean herself up. That was, after making a quick stop at her bedroom to collect some clothes to change in to. Being as caught up in everything that happened as she was, Lucine's usually sharp senses were a little dulled due to panic, making her less likely to find out if someone was moving around the house near where she was.

Elthin went about his normal morning routine of making breakfast, Seeing as how he now had another mouth to feed Elthin first thought on what sort of breakfast, Would be good for the both of them to eat this morning. Going over to the cold room where Elthin kept several different types of meat that he saved. He took some dear meat and headed back into the kitchen. Where he began to heat it up followed by taking some eggs and bread. While the meat cooked Elthin began to make some scrambled eggs. The bread was the kind that had been used last night for dinner seeing as how there was a little left of it. Elthin thought it would be best to finish it off before starting on a new loaf of bread.

He set the bread upon the table with some jam this type. Being strawberry flavoured and went back to check on the meat it was cooking nicely. Soon enough he finished cooking the scrambled eggs and then got two plates for them both. Setting the eggs upon both plates he waited on the meat to finish up which took a few minutes longer than he would have liked. Ten minutes later the meat was finished and he set to slices of it upon both their plates. Setting the plates upon the table Elthin went about making himself some coffee while taking out some fresh milk for Lucine to drink.

Once everything was prepared Elthin then decided to go check in on Lucine. As it was nearing eight in the morning and he wanted to see if she was up yet or not. Walking down the hallway he had missed Lucine's little morning episode having been making breakfast at the time. He, however, did reach the door to her room as she was changing. Then there came a knock upon the door to her room coming from him.

"Lucine are you awake I've made us some breakfast?" Elthin asked.

When Lucine had pretty much 'destroyed' all the evidence of her 'incident', and feeling a little better than her earlier sticky self, Lucine was busy getting dressed when she heard a knock at her door. She silently thanked the Gods above for allowing her to clean up most of the mess she made before Elthin went to check on her. However, she was still pretty much stark naked.

"You can come in if you want. Just be warned that I'm getting dressed." Lucine called out in response. She still had yet to flip her mattress and remake her bed before she could let him in here. Hopefully, that would deter Elthin for a while.

Now, how would she break the news to him so he didn't catch her soiled bedding and garments? She'd have to think up a 'If I wanted to...' scenario to put it across.

Elthin waited a short while to see if he'd get any sort of reply. A little while later he indeed did when he heard Lucine's voice from behind the door. He wasn't really sure if he really wanted to go in and check on her that would. Just lead to something rather embarrassing so he remained outside of her room.

"No thanks" Elthin replied back.

He thought for a moment on something else to say but nothing came to mind. "I'll be in the kitchen" soon he left her door and headed back there.

Thankfully, Lucine's little distraction had worked, and Elthin soon headed off back into the kitchen, leaving her with enough time to quickly put on one of her new outfits and sort out most of her bed-making. She left it at just flipping the mattress and placing a new blanket onto the bed for now. The rest can be done later. After she was done, she left her room and followed the scent of food into the kitchen.

"You may have said 'no' earlier, but I'm sure you were dying to see my naked body once more." Lucine teased as she took a seat at the table. "The offer's still open, until I take my next bath that is."

Elthin was busy eating his meal again when Lucine entered the room. A faint blush formed on his face then left he'd need to get her back for that one.

"What about yourself I'm sure you'd like to see my naked body sometimes" Elthin countered. He was only doing saying this because of what she had said. There was a small silence between them and Elthin went back to eating.

Unexpectedly, Elthin threw back an equally questionable retort to Lucine's offer. She faltered a little before laughing.

"Ew! No way would I want to see that!" Lucine countered between laughter. "You're, like, twice as old as me!"

After the gutter humor, now came the awkward part of a 'Hypothetical, but really real' situation. After thinking through her question while eating, Lucine believe she finally had a plausible reasoning behind wanting to know about cleaning clothes the Nobel way without sounding too suspicious. After finishing off a final mouthful of food, Lucine posed her question.

"Um, as you're an adventuring type, I guess I may be left home alone sometimes while you're out doing your things. Also, I don't want to be living here, in a place like this, constantly taking but never giving. What I'm trying to say is...how should I put this...I'd like to know if I can help with housework? Starting with the easy things, like doing my own laundry and also, sometimes, making meals. For starters, what if I wanted to do my own laundry right now? All I'm used to is placing stuff in a huge pail of soapy water and rubbing the washing up against a washboard to clean it. How would I go about using the stuff in this house to do washing and things?"

Elthin listened to what Lucine had said back to him. "Sometimes maybe but you can always come with me. It would help you learn more about the world outside these city walls. I can show you how to do some small housework." Elthin says he then thought of why Lucine would want to do her laundry right now. "Why would you want to do your laundry right now?" Elthin asked.

"We, do things differently than just using a huge pail of soapy water. I for one used magic to clean your old outfit earlier but I think it would be easier to show you how. I normally do it which would let you understand."

Elthin gave his answer, and then Lucine realised just how much she'd dropped herself into it right now. She was as smooth talking as a gravel road is soft.

"I-I-I was just speaking hypo-...hyper-...hypa-...as a 'what if'. I don't mean 'right now' right now, I mean that as if I wanted to do cleaning some time in the future." Lucine stammered out. "I've got nothing to clean but underwear from yesterday right now!"

After trying, and potentially failing, to cover up her mistake, Luicne decided to take Elthin up on his offer for teaching her how to clean clothes. But right now would be even more problematic than her trying to hide the fact she'd slipped up.

"That'll be fine. It can wait until after today's lessons, though." Lucine quickly answered, trying to end the conversation relating to cleaning there and then.

Elthin could see that Lucine seemed to be embarrassed about what. He had just asked this made him want to know more about what it was. "Okay, well you can clean your underwear later I suppose" Elthin went on to say. He wondered just why she would want to clean them could something have happened to them during the night. "Did something happen to them last night?" Elthin asked.

Lucine the suggested he show her after the lessons were done. "Is there anything you would like to do today after lessons are done?" Elthin asked.

Again, Lucine's mouth moved before her mind could hide some things and, once more, she'd dropped herself even further into trouble.

"It's a perfectly normal thing, isn't it? Underwear is always changed once every day so, of course I'd have some underwear to clean. Plus, I want to get them clean as soon as possible as I'm currently a little exposed down there right now." Lucine quickly blurted out without thinking. The slight reddening of her cheeks stood testament to her current embarrassed state by this line of questioning.

Thankfully, the subject was changed, for now, to a more suitable one.

"I can't really think of anything I want to do after lessons right now." Lucine answered. "If I come up with something, I'll let you know. Unless, there's something you want me to do later?"

Elthin listened as Lucine spoke once more only to see her then blush after. What she had said plus he blushed himself for a short while as he couldn't. Help but think over what she said again and again "Um. I think that we shall talk about that later, as for your being exposed I can't help but say I should have bought you some more pairs" Elthin said.

The subject then changed.

"There's nothing I really want to do after lessons." he then got up and mentioned for her to follow.

Elthin took the blame upon himself for Lucine's currently exposed state. An admirable thing, if it wasn't his fault in the first place.

The pair soon finished their food and began to head off to begin the day's lessons.

"So, lessons then nothing?" Lucine asked, sounding a little dejected. "Isn't there anything we could do?"

While heading over to the place where lessons will be conducted, a mischievous idea popped into Lucine's head. She wanted to at least try and perform this particular idea as the results should be fun. She couldn't help but smile to herself a little at the thought of the potential outcomes of this plan.

"That's why I asked if you wanted to do anything else?" Elthin told her.

As they walked back to the training area Elthin knew. That there was things that he did indeed want to try out today but how did he know that Lucine wouldn't be bored with what was going on. "I do want to search around your home again for more clues" Elthin brought up. Once they reached the floor and walked through the door.

"Are you prepared to give it your all these lessons are going to be challenging?"

"What can I possibly do? If you walk around with me out in the open, more of those crazy Peacocks will try and off me in the streets. You may also be seen as a Pimp for Whoring little girls considering how I look and the fact that I'm as naked as the day I was born under these clothes." Lucine responded. "Not quite the image a classy guy like you wants, no?"

Elthin offered the suggestion of searching around the ruins of Lucine's home once more for clues.

"Not much you could find charred wood and stuff, really." Lucine dismissed the idea. "Though, it will allow me to get back to the slums and borrow those boys' clothes, so I guess I could come along."

The pair arrived at the door to the Lesson room.

"Can't be more challenging than trying to land a dagger into an apple on a chimney top from the streets." Lucine answered dismissively. She was certainly confident in her ability to learn.

"This time I will make sure no one knows your around me. I made the mistake of not taking matters to make sure you weren't noticed." Elthin says only to have heard just now what Lucine said and he didn't want that to happen.

"I don't want that nor need it unless its something you would enjoy being my whore after all?" Elthin tried to joke again.

Once in the lesson room he got serious.

"I'm sure this will be far more challenging than you know but before we begin. I'd like to ask you a question what do you know of magic?"

Elthin tried to play off the 'Whore' joke set forth by Lucine. Unlike the other jokes, Lucine didn't seem too keen on this one.

"Nobody enjoys being a Whore. Nobody wants to be one either. Selling yourself for money is something which no girl will ever freely do." Lucine answered, darkly serious for once. "However, some people place the prosperity of their family over their own personal virtue, A sacrifice needed for the better, but a fate far worse than torture."

Inside the lesson room, Elthin asked the first, most important question.

"All I know is that Magic is very useful and that Nobles would rather keep it to themselves. I know of the four basic elements and how they work in our daily lives. Basically, I know as much about magic as a baby in arms does." Lucine replied. "Basic stuff taught to Noble toddlers as soon as they understand language."

Elthin's joke from earlier seemed like a bad one so after Lucine had. Said her piece on the matter Elthin didn't say anything else as it wasn't worth bringing up anymore.

"Magic is very useful I know that some Nobles would like to do that. While there are four basic elements of magic there are others some which or forbidden. From seeing what you did earlier I can take it that your element would be fire magic. While I am not a fire magic user myself I am an ice magic user which falls under the water element. That is the kind of magic that I will be teaching you how to use." Elthin tells her letting it all sink in.

He knew that this was going to be hard normally it was easier. For students to learn the magic best suited for them like in Lucine's case fire. But seeing as how Elthin was a different type teaching Lucine ice magic would be a problem for the both of them.

Elthin listed off what kind of Magic he uses and how he shall be imparting the knowledge onto Lucine. While fire had been the power she was believed to have used before, she still had her doubts whether it was all her doing, or just some sheer miracle of a benevolent invader to shield her before razing the house.

"Somehow I don't think I'll be learning much about using Magic, then." Lucine sighed. "Aren't fire and water opposing elements? Wouldn't they cancel one another out?"

"Yes both fire and water are opposing elements and they would cancel each other out. But in the past their have been some Magician's who have been able to use both opposing elements. Together and not have that happening to them yet that is very rare. Maybe you might be one of those people who can use two opposing elements together?" Elthin said.

After saying that he backed away slightly from where. Lucine stood next be began to chant softly to himself as a means to show Lucine just what he can do. Moments passed and the temp within the room started to drop just a little bit and while Elthin kept on chanting the area before him. Turned into a small frozen piece of flooring as right before him was covered in ice.

"What I did just now was something small which you can see with the ice on the floor. There are other easy spells to cast such as defensive spells. That it what I shall teach you first which can help you in your match later and if someone were to attack you." Elthin told her.

Elthin explained about opposing elements and there being records of Magicians being able to use two elements rather than one.

"I think those were called 'Adepts', right? There are meant to be a lot of Adepts in the Mainland. After all, that's where the Archmage lives." Lucine answered. "However, I didn't think they were real. I only heard of them from Drunken bards in the taverns back in the Slums."

Elthin began to chant slowly and the room suddenly turned very cold, allowing ice to form throughout the space. Lucine was clearly shocked, and a little put off by the coldness, and gave her answer once Elthin had finished his explanation.

"The best defense is a good offense. Strike them before they can strike you. That's the Slum way." Lucine simply answered. "Though, I don't think that'll work against Magicians, so I'd like to lean this 'Defensive' spell you speak of."

"Yes, they are called 'Adepts'" Elthin told her after she had mentioned about where the Archmage lived Elthin had heard about the Archmage numerous times in his travels. But was never able to meet the man before.

Lucine was then surprised by the small spell that he had cast. "Defense is good to have as you learn more you will be able to strength your defense yet can also learn. To cast various other types upon yourself or others like me for example."

Lucine then was ready to learn the spell Elthin planned to teach her.

"The spell I have in mind will be able to protect you from low-level spells. To make things easier to understand think of it this way say I had a dagger in hand and cut your cheek. This spell would protect you from that cut but not something stronger like if. I were to stab you with said dagger which would be a stronger version of a spell." Elthin went on to explain hoping that he wasn't confusing Lucine on how he was explaining things.

He let her think on it for a while before speaking about.

"Also as you grow stronger the spell will grow stronger as well."

Elthin explained the spell he was about to teach Lucine. She listened carefully, taking in all the details her Mentor gave, and quietly running through the effects under her breath.

"Minor protection...gets stronger the stronger I get...basic defense..." Lucine quietly said to herself before perking up a little with a pleased look on her face. "I've got it! You're talking about the 'Barrier' spell, right? I've heard some Magicians say that it's the only thing that protects them from the foulness of the Slums. Also, doesn't it help to regulate temperature to a reasonable level and, also, prevent most non-magical things from harming the Magician when they get stronger?"

"That is correct the 'Barrier' spell does have a lot of different uses and as you. Pointed out it can do those things as you get stronger. Also, I'd like to point out that the 'Barrier' spell can also protect you from high-level magic. I"ll explain more about that, later on, I'd like to ask you this when you think of a 'Barrier' what is the first thing that comes to your mind?" Elthin asked.

Before he was going to teach Lucine how to start to learn the spell. He'd first show her how it worked. "Before I start to teach you the basics I'd like to show you how this spell works" Elthin started to chant softly once more before pointing a hand at Lucine. Unseen to Lucine a small invisible barrier started to form around her entire body. Which would protect her from harm from what he was about to do?

Elthin continued to explain the 'Barrier' spell. Lucine felt quite proud with herself for figuring out the name of something she shouldn't really know as of yet. Elthin asked what Lucine envisioned as a 'barrier'.

"i'd like to think of it as a kind of Bubble which surrounds a person. Or, like flower petals which surround a growing plant. Basically, I see it as a kind of ball which protects something from harm." Lucine answered, puzzling over her explanation a little.

Elthin informed Lucine that he was about to demonstrate how it works.

"Um..okay?" Lucine answered as she wondered just what he was doing.

"A 'Barrier' spell is sort of like a bubble which surrounds a person. They are able to move freely this way and that without having to worry about it being seen."

Next Elthin pointed his hand towards her slowly a small ball of ice began to form. Above the palm of his hand it was small in shape and looked like a small rock. Once the ball of ice was done forming Elthin cast the spell sending the ball speeding at Lucine. Only to at the last moment strike an unseen wall a few inches before her. Bouncing off towards the right side the barrier had protected Lucine from harm she wasn't hurt or anything.

"How do you feel?" Elthin asked.

He wanted to know what Lucine's thoughts were on what he had just done.

Elthin confirmed Lucine's thoughts on what a 'Barrier' was. She was catching on quick to the world of Magic.

The next thing Elthin did both shocked and amazed Lucine. Elthin created a small ball of ice and sent it hurtling towards Lucine, who reflexively flinched at the rapidly acelerating object before seeing it fly off in another direction, blocked by an unseen wall.

"I'm not sure whether you intend to kill me, or teach me after that." Lucine frankly answered once she was certain that she was safe from further projectiles. "Next time you throw stuff at me, warn me first, okay?"

"Fine, fine you will be warned next time" Elthin then lowered his hand. The barrier that was still around Lucine appeared faintly allowing her to see how far. It extended outwards from her body it was about a foot away from her and was blue in color. Elthin allowed Lucine to study it for several long moments making sure that she would take everything in. Before allowing the barrier to shatter to pieces around her.

"This is what I'd like for you to do first clear your mind. Then I want you to picture a bubble in your mind with yourself within said bubble. I want you to concentrate on that bubble try and think of it standing before your body." Elthin tells her.

Elthin agreed to warn Lucine next time he tried to assault her protected form in any way, shape or form. He then made the barrier around Lucine visible to allow her to study it closely. She stared intently at the entirety of the barrier and tried picturing similar things in her mind. The barrier soon shattered, and Elthin requested that she tried to make one of her own.

Lucine took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to feel the powers coursing through her veins and trying to bend them to her will. However...

A thin circle of magical energy began to form around a foot and a half away from where Lucine was. This barrier soon sparked to life as a giant plume of magma, stretching from floor to ceiling blasted forth seemingly from the depths of the earth itself, creating a ring of scorched tiles on the flooring around Lucine. A scream was heard from within the plume before it splattered harmlessly to the floor, leaving a rather shaky girl in the middle of a circle of charred tiles.

"That...wasn't supposed to happen..." Lucine quietly explained.

Elthin watched as Lucine studied the barrier before it went down. Followed next by her trying to do as he requested he watched her closely and could see. As a magical barrier started to form around her only to then spark to life. A giant plume of magma that blasted towards the ceiling the hidden marks on the walls and floor soon came to life. Creating a barrier once more around Lucine keeping her from any sort of harm.

He heard her scream and sent forth a cold wind which froze the magma. Before he dispelled it with a wave of his hand. Elthin could see that Lucine was clearly shaken by what had just happened to her.

"I want you to think for a moment when you were forming the barrier. What went through your mind right when the magma appeared?" Elthin asked.

Apart from being a little shaken, there was nothing visibly wrong with Lucine. Elthin asked what had gone through her mind before the magma appeared.

"Nothing, I think... I just imagined the bubble and imagined it covering me. I have no idea why it suddenly caught fire." Lucine simply answered. "I tried to feel the power inside me and bend it to my will but I don't think it liked it that much."

Elthin listened on what Lucine had to say.

"That has sometimes happened to people before maybe it would be better. To first learn about the power inside you and how to control it. Before doing something like trying to create the barrier spell I ask you this. When you had tapped into the power what did it feel like if you could describe it as an emotion what emotion would that be?"

Elthin explained about controlling the power inside Lucine before she started to try and use it.

"I guess that, when I first found it, it seemed calm and slightly wary, like a cat who's just been peacefully woken from its nap. When I tried to turn it into a 'Barrier' spell, I think it got a little angry." Lucine answered. "So, for emotions, I'd say 'Calm' upon finding it and 'Anger' upon trying to cast the spell."

Elthin nodded his head as Lucine explained things.

"I understand what you mean I still think it would be better to learn to control it. To be on the safe side just to keep things easy. For starters, I want you to try and tap into that power just to get a basic feel of it again. All I want you to do is feel what the power is like nothing more if something comes up I want you to power down."

Elthin instructed Lucine to try to tap into her powers once more but instantly sever the connection if something happened.

"O-okay." Lucine nodded as she closed her eyes once more and began to control her breathing.

A slight lull of magic energy began to seep forth from Lucine. This was common if a Magician doesn't know how to mask their powers. It just signified that she was beginning to tap into the ley-lines of magic throughout the world to try and find the one corresponding to her element.

Lucine's breathing remained calm and controlled, for a short while. A few moments later, she suddenly yelped and snapped her eyes open.

"I-it tried to attack me!" Lucine quietly mentioned. "It snapped at me."

Lucine tried once more to tap into her magical power. She seemed to be doing just fine before she yelped and mentioned it tried to attack her again.

"This is troubling indeed," Elthin said at last.

He wanted to keep going but didn't want to put Lucine in harms way.

"Some how we have to find a way that you can control your powers freely. Within these things happening" Elthin said.

Elthin suggested they stopped there for the Magic training until they could come up with alternatives.

"I think I just upset it before." Lucine answered. "It didn't seem like it wanted to hurt me. It actually felt like it was telling me to leave it alone. Maybe I should try apologising to it?"

Lucine began to reflect back on her encounter with her powers.

"When I find my powers, it looks like some sort of scaly creature sleeping in my mind. When I approach it to try and use my magic, It opens one eye, a slitted yellow eye, kind of like a cat's eye, and stares at me, asking me to state why I've approached it. Last time, when I tried to make the barrier, I didn't answer and just tried to call upon the power and then, well, you know what happened. When I tried to communicate with it again, the same thing happened, except, when I went to approach it, it turned to me and tried to bite me. It hard large, white fangs, bigger than any animal's I've seen before." Lucine explained.

Elthin couldn't help but laugh at Lucine wanting to say sorry to her power.

"I've never heard of someone wanting to do that before."

Lucine explained her encounter with her powers.

"Let's see I guess for starters you can say your sorry to the cat creature or dragon creature. Then explain to it what you wish to do with the power maybe it would allow you to use it's magic?" Elthin suggested.

Elthin laughed at Lucine's suggestion of apologising to her power. She just glared at him in response. She seemed pretty intent on doing just that. Regardless, Elthin suggested that she tried it anyway.

"R-right." Lucine answered as she began to close her eyes once more, "I'll try and make a little fire on the tip of my finger."

Once again, Lucine entered a state of deep breathing. She held out her right hand, extended her forefinger and pointed the finger upwards. After a few moments, the thrum of magic returned around Lucine and, slowly, a tiny flame appeared on the tip of her finger, dancing happily like it was perched on the wick of a candle. A smile crept onto Lucine's face as she began to slowly retract her finger. The flame flickered out and Lucine opened her eyes.

"It worked." Lucine stated, sounding amazed at herself. "It actually worked!"

Elthin ignored the look he had been given.

Lucine then went on to try what was suggested and moments later. Tried to draw on her powers again this time it worked and she was able to form a tiny flame. On the tip of her finger Lucine seemed happy about this.

"Good job why not try that again with another finger?"

Elthin was pleased with the steps Lucine had been able to take on the path to learning her Magic.

"I don't want to upset Her so I don't think I'll ask for pointless things like parlor tricks." Lucine simply answered. "She's been kind enough to tolerate me so far, even if I did go a little overboard with it all earlier, so I think She's done enough for me today."

Lucine dipped back into her magic for a little while before cutting the connection voluntarily. Before questions were asked, Lucine confimed what she was doing.

"I just thanked Her for putting up with me." Lucine informed her tutor. "Why don't you teach me a little more theory before we start dipping back into practical?"

Elthin learned that it was a Her who Lucine had said she was sorry to.

"I wouldn't call them parlor tricks this is just a means for you to start small. Getting used to controlling your power before moving onto bigger things." Lucine mentioned that Her was done enough for her today before dipping back into her power. Then cutting things off and wanting to learn more theory before moving onto the practical again.

"We can do that, how much do you currently know about theory?" Elthin asked.

Elthin insisted that these 'parlor tricks' were 'starting small' and not pointless, though Lucine didn't look convinced. He then, once again, asked her what she knew of magic.

"I answered this before. I know as much as a Noble toddler does about it." Lucine repeated. "You're not going senile, are you?"

"No, I'm not"

Elthin then started to think about how he was going to teach her more theory. "Magic or sorcery is the use of rituals, symbols, actions, gestures and language with the aim of exploiting supernatural forces." Elthin first explained as he thought more. "When casting some spell depending on what sort of spell you are casting. You may need to speak a certain language or speak a certain phrase. Sometimes a spell might also require a person may follow a certain pattern which helps them. Draw the magical energy to form the spell before them." Elthin explained letting everything sink on all before going on.

"I might have mentioned this or I may not have but there is also a vast category. Of spells for basics, you have your offense and defense type of magic. The barrier spell I'm teaching you falls into the defense category. While casting a fireball against an attacking monster would be offensive based."

The start of the explanation looked to go right over Lucine's head as Elthin reeled off complicated words. He didn't seem to remember he was talking to a girl from the Slums, whose only source of education were her parents and the environment of the Slums. Complicated and large words were likely lost on her. When the second part came up, which seemed to clarify the first, Lucine seemed to understand what Elthin was talking about, if only a little. In the break of communcation, Lucine started to make mental notes of the explanation. Elthin then continued on with the initial talk about what types of magic there were.

"I think I get it?" Lucine answered, sounding a little unsure of herself. "One thing, though, please don't use those big words. All the words I know came from my family, the other people in the Slums, and some passing merchants and travelers, and they weren't exactly Scholars or Elders."

Lucine seemed to get what he had said but she also seemed confused. "Is there anything that you don't understand about what I just mentioned. I can go over it again trying to make things more easier to understand?" Elthin asked.

Teaching Lucine magic was a lot harder than Elthin thought it would be. Maybe he should have tried weapon-play with her first.

"So, drawing things can also be a form of Magic?" Lucine asked. "And doing certain hand movements and stuff? Magic's more complicated that I thought. I just thought it was saying a word like 'Explosion!' and things would go 'BOOM!'."

"Yes. as it can help channel the magic powers. You are able to use to form the sort of spell you'd like to cast" Elthin explained. "Yes it's all complicated but as you learn more about it things should become easier. Also reading books is another form of learning magic as knowledge can be gained that way too." Elthin pointed out.

Elthin elaborated more on the gestures and shapes used for casting magic and then, once again, forgot about Lucine's limited learning capabilities.

"Reading is probably nice but, I think I've already told you this, I don't know how to read." Lucine sighed. "I'd hate to become this forgetful when I'm older. If that's the way it'll be, then I'd like to stay young forever."

"I know you have I was just pointed out other methods of learning magic." Elthin went onto say. He then put a hand to his head "what can we do to make things easier?" Elthin asked. He had so much to teach her and not all the time in the world to get what he wanted taught across.

Elthin puzzled over ways of teaching Lucine all she needed to know to learn Magic. Things were never going to be easy for a single tutor trying to do the job of a whole Guild of Learned individuals. Lucine decided that a compromise was necessary.

"How about this: You teach me all the basic stuff, like reading and writing, and, once I've got that down and the very basics of magic, you could enroll me at the Guild as a new student. Wait, wasn't that our original plan?" Lucine suggested, confused by her own lapse of memory. "Anyway, you teach me basic stuff, and the Guild teaches me the rest. We can do the learning while doing other things, like you could teach me to read by showing me a Magic book aimed at kids while also teaching me the origins of Magic with it."

Lucine explained on how she wanted to be taught.

"Well it was but didn't you also say you wished to learn to read and write later?" Elthin asked. As Lucine had mentioned that she wanted that to happen later. So he had been trying to teach her how to do magic without the reading part of it added it. Which just made things a lot harder "we can do that so I believe we should then head to the library teach you to read. Sorry for things being so confusing and hard."

Elthin then mentioned for Lucine to follow him.

Elthin was in agreement for Lucine's educational proposition, but he didn't seem too keen on the reading and writing being included so soon.

"Without reading and writing, I won't be able to learn at the Guild, as musty old books are the only way those old guys can teach. Learning the basics of Noble Living will make everything much easier as it'll open up so many ways to learn. I could also do what they call 'private study' then and not take up too much of your time." Lucine replied. "If Slums had schools, then this would be so much easier. Mainland doesn't have Slums, so they must all be really smart there. That's probably why only the wisest of Elders and the smartest of Scholars go there."

Elthin informed Lucine of something called a 'Library'.

"is that the place where all the Scholars go to do stuff?" Lucine asked, sounding a little bored."They just spend all their times with their noses in books it's no wonder that they're the easiest to pickpocket."

Lucine followed on behind Elthin before stopping for a moment.

"Hey, um...wouldn't it be better if I, you know, covered up a little 'down there' before I go wandering around the Noble's quarter?" Lucine suggested. "We've already made a bad enough image."

"You do know I can also teach you to read and write do you think. That'd be easier than going to the Guild or do you still wish to do that?" Elthin asked. He thought over everything else that Lucine had to say. "After what you say me teaching you can be called 'private study' plus I don't mind teaching you" Elthin added. He then went on to say something else "you're not taking up too much of my time it's actually nice having you around as it's been a bit quiet here lately."

Lucine then asked about the 'Library'

"Yes must Scholars do that stuff there" Lucine then stopped and asked about covering up. "Why would we be going around the Noble's quarter I was going to take you to my library. Unless you'd rather go to the Guild's one after you're done cleaning up?" Elthin asked.

"That's what I meant, dummy!" Lucine chuckled. "You'll teach me to read and write so I can then go and learn the rest at the Guild. I won't be able to learn at the Guild unless I know how to read and write."

Elthin seemed to appreciate Lucine's time with him, which came as quite the surprise to the young girl.

"U-um...thanks." Lucine answered with a blush. "I like spending time with you as well. You know so much about the world that I don't know."

Elthin confirmed that Scholars did, indeed, spend nearly all their time at the Library. Much to Lucine's surprise, Elthin decided to not take her to the Local library but, rather his own private Library.

"I guess that can work as well." Lucine replied, quite confused by the offer. "Don't you need to enroll me at the Guild before I can start going there? I guess that, if you're offering to take me to the Guild, we can get the enrollment and the first look around done at the same time. After I've been taught how to do laundry, of course. Firstly, though, we'll need to get me some boy's clothes."

"Could have made things easier to understand silly" Elthin sighed. "Also while at the Guild please try and not cause a whole lot of trouble" Elthin added.

Lucine also seemed to enjoy her time with him as well.

"Your welcome" Elthin told her.

Lucine was confusing him again but he didn't let it show. "Yes I still need to do that this it what we will do. First we will get you cleaned up then we will need to make you look more like a boy. To help go along with the clothes we will pick up after we finished up at the Guild. Once all that is done we will come back here where I'll teach you how to read and write does that sound like a plan?" Elthin asked.

He then started to lead Lucine towards the laundry.

Elthin, once again, inadvertently accused Lucine of being a trouble maker.

"I'm not the one who causes trouble. Trouble's the one who finds me." Lucine countered.

Confusing conversations began to look like a common occurrence between the pair now.

"This is getting us nowhere." Lucine sighed as she tried to process what events they were actually doing and in what order. "I'll just follow your lead. That sounds like a much better plan."

As proposed previously, Lucine just followed Elthin's lead, until realisation hit her. He was going to help her with laundry, and not just teach her how to do it.

Oh no...

"Well, if it does it does" Elthin said back.

Elthin then led Lucine to the laundry room and they both walked inside. Inside the room was also different from the basics that Lucine would have known in the Slums. There was washing machine and a dryer it was a new model that had recently just been invented. About a year ago and Elthin had decided to pick up two for a lot of money.

Elthin led Lucine into a room which she'd only frantically blitzed through earlier. Now that she was a little more composed, the true wonders of the room set in. There were two strange metal objects with some kind of supple, yet super strong, material covering a cylinder of ridged and bumped metal. The cylinder had a glass door on the front of it. It was, in short, a wonder of something which Lucine had never even heard of before. How could metal be formed in such a way? And what was the strange material covering the metal, and how did they turn glass into a door?! Just what were these alien things?! Lucine was evidently amazed and confused about all of this.

Lucine was amazed at what she saw when they entered the room. In the corner of the room was a pile of dirty clothes that Elthin had not washed yet. Having been far too busy and forgot about it walking over her picked up his dirty clothes. And took them over to the washing machine and placed them inside. "First thing you would want to do is place your clothes inside this machine. But before doing them you'd want to sperate them into colors as not to create a use mess." Elthin said.

He knew Lucine would be confused by what he just said. "I will explain further at another time seeing as how my clothes as just some shirts. It's okay next we want to add in some bleach and other items to help make our clothes clean."

Elthin began to explain the basics of clothes washing to Lucine.

"I know how to do it, just not how to use these...things?" Lucine answered, indicating the two strange objects. "Separate darks from lights and colours from shades."

Lucine began to look over the two strange devices a little more closely.

"So, these things do all the work? What'll I do, then? How do they work? What are they?" Lucine asked as tons of questions popped into her mind.

"These things work on using water magic elemental stones. You'll have to wait for a certain about of time like thirty minutes for the washing machine. The dryer machine uses fire elemental stones and you'd have to wait forty minutes. But don't worry about the stones doing any harm these are made to be used in doing this sort of thing." Elthin explained.

He went over and picked up some elemental stones of water. From a cub board nearby and placed them into the washing machine. After placing the bleach on his clothes soon enough the stones began to do their work.

Elthin's explanation cleared most questions up, but they didn't say just how they worked. Once the machine began to do its job, Lucine stared in amazement at the small glass window before the drum of the machine.

"Wow..." Lucine quietly breathed in marvel as she continued to stare, like a cat at a circular ball, at the drum of the machine.

Elthin then forgot that he had not told her how they worked. "These machine work like how we used to do laundry in the old days but the do a much quicker job and don't take all day." Elthin mentioned again.

As they waited for Elthin's clothes to finish washing they made small talk. About the day ahead and things in the future soon enough Elthin's clothes were done. And he placed them in the dryer to dry and quickly they were done as well. Leaving it now Lucine's turn to do her own laundry "are you okay with working these machines alone or do you want some help in using them?" Elthin asked after taking out his clothes.

Elthin tried to make small talk with Lucine, but it was kind of hard with her one-word answers as she was captivated by the things going on inside of the machine. Eventually, the clothes were cleaned and she was snapped back to reality.

"Oh..um...just show me what stuff to use and I can do the rest myself." Lucine quickly answered. "You can get back to prepping the rest of the stuff for today. I'll be fine alone, really."

"Okay I'll show you again," Elthin said noticing that Lucine seemed to be hiding something again. He didn't push it so he showed her once more on what stuff to use going slow. So that she would know what to use and soon enough he was finished.

"I'll get things ready for the day" Elthin the let Lucine be alone.

Thankfully, Elthin bought the obvious lie and just ran through what to use once more and what measurements to use them in. Afterwards, he left Lucine to her own devices, much to her delight.

Once she was certain that Elthin was not in the room, and that he wasn't going to be coming back in any time soon, Lucine removed her soiled bedding and clothing from its hiding place and threw them all in the machine. They were all pretty much the same colour, and linen's natural colouring didn't run, so they'd all be fine going in the same wash. She inserted the amount of Elemental Stones she was told to use and let the machine do its work.

During the time Lucine was doing her laundry Elthin was busy making plans. For the rest of the day he was also making sure everything would all go right. The first thing he did was go to his room and opened an old chest. With some old clothes of his after placing his laundry on his bed. He took some of his clothes out and looked them over. Looking to see what sort of clothes he could give to Lucine to use.

For when they went out later as it would be a good idea. To have her looking like a noble to help avoid some more trouble. He knew he'd need to use some magic to shrink the clothes into her size but wasn't sure which clothes would look good on her. So he picked out a black shirt and trousers for her to wear. Then used some magic to shrink the clothes into her size and went about going to her room to place them there.

The machine took its time to clean through the articles of clothing inside of it. During this time, Lucine silently prayed to any Deity that would listen, and more so to the 'Deity of Laundry', if there was such a thing, that the stuff inside wouldn't be stained when it came out. Stained washing was the last thing she wanted to have to explain. Thankfully, the offending thing which caused the problem in the first place was mostly diluted, as was normal in a hot place like the desert, so it shouldn't have caused that much trouble. Still, nothing could be left to chance when a girl's dignity was on the line.

After he had put some of the new clothes in Lucine's room he took. A pair that he had been holding onto and walked back to the laundry room to give them to Lucine to wear. "I'm given something of mine to you to wear when we go out. It should be in your size as I did a small change to it." Elthin told her as he handed her the clothes to get changed into. As he left the room to do a few more things.

Thankfully, just before Elthin entered the Laundry room, the wash was done and Lucine had quickly thrown the important things into the other machine to be dried. She acted a little suspicious at first.

"Oh, uh, I didn't know you'd be back so soon. Come to check on me to make sure I haven't wrecked the place?" Lucine quickly commented as she stood directly in front of the window on the dryer. "Clothes, huh? I guess it'd be better if I did look more Noble-like when I'm out walking around. I'll get changed into them before we go out."

After the quick surprise visit, Lucine exhaled the breath she'd been unintentionally holding during the visit. That was far too close.

Elthin wasn't able to answer Lucine again since he had already left the room. While Lucine was busy changing and doing her own things Elthin. Went to the library of his and searched for a magic book that would make things. Easier for Lucine to learn to do magic along with having a better chance of her learning to read at a easier pace. After a time of searching he was able to find a dusty tome that would suit them nicely. Blowing the dust off the book then wiping it down with a cloth.

Elthin set the book down on the table along with a feathered pin and some paper. If things went nicely he'd also try and teach her how to write as well. With everything in place he left the room and moved back to the weapons room.

Once the dryer was done, Lucine collected up her washing and took them, along with her new change of clothes, back to her bedroom to remake her bed and get changed. Firstly, she placed her panties back on, as she was certain that male clothing wouldn't be as suitable for going commando in as some female clothing is.

Afterwards, she went about quickly making her bed to further hide any indications that something a little more than she was letting on had happened. Once the bed was made, Lucine went about changing into the male clothing she was given. It was hard figuring out how some of the clothes were put on, as all Slum girls tended to wear were their brown linen dresses, and trousers were reserved for only adult males as a sign of maturity. She wasn't sure if people would buy the fact that she was, indeed a Noble Boy if she was wearing something which only adults should wear. However, she trusted Elthin's judgement and went about putting all the clothes on.

Once she was changed, she looked herself over in the mirror. She didn't look too much like a girl any more. The only real give-away to her true gender were her slightly wider and more curvaceous hips and her long hair. Her face could easily be mistaken for a pretty-boy's face, so it wasn't that much of an issue at present. Upon doing a little bit of moving around in her clothes, she also noticed that she didn't carry herself like a boy did. She'd always learned from her mother, so it wasn't a surprise that she was way too feminine in grace, posture and movement. She'd probably have to be taught how to walk more masculine from Elthin. For now, her long hair could be hidden by wearing a flat-cap, like some Noble Boys wore. All in all, she could easily pass as a boy if people didn't look too much into it. When she started blooming into Womanhood, though, all the lies will be unraveled.

Following on from her quick appraisal of herself, Lucine went off to go an find Elthin to show him the change that had come over her.

In the weapons room once again Elthin took a dagger from the wall. It was one of the daggers he had shown Lucine early. He'd have her wear it on the side while also keeping the weapon she already had hidden on her person. He next took his own sword from his room and would wear that himself. Leaving the room Elthin then went to the washroom to get the stuff needed to trim Lucine's hair to make it look more like boys.

He got some scissors, a towel, and a few other things and walked back, To the laundry room where Lucine had finished dressing herself. "I was thinking of cutting your hair a little to make it look more like boys or do you wish to keep your hair as is?" Elthin asked her. As he set things up upon on of the counters in the room. As he looked at he could see that she indeed could pass for a Noble Boy but would still need a small amount of training. Such as walking and acting for one thing and posture would be another.

Instead of Lucine finding Elthin, Elthin had found her. He offered to cut her hair to make her look more like a boy.

"While I'm quite fond of my hair, I guess I couldn't always go around wearing a hat, so, sadly, I'm afraid it'll have to go." Lucine answered, sounding a little downtrodden. "Please don't cut too much of it off."

Elthin could tell that Lucine seemed a little downtrodden. At the thought of getting her hair cut so he offered another idea. "Well you can wear a hat most of the time if you really want to. We could always do the cutting some other time?" Elthin said.

He even took a moment to look her up and down.

"Those clothes suit you nicely" Elthin commented her.

Elthin offered the alternative of cutting Lucine's hair at a later date.

"I guess it could work out for most of the time, but, still, it'd look a little weird if I kept wearing hats indoors." Lucine answered. "I'll keep it long, for now, but, eventually, it'll have to be chopped off either way."

Elthin made what Lucine interpreted as a snide comment, saying that boys clothes suited her.

"Are you saying I'm more like a boy than a girl?" Lucine questioned. "I'll have you know I'm more girl that you'll ever get."

"Then its decided then."

Lucine next made a comment about her being more of a girl than he'd ever know.

"N-No I'm just saying that you looked nice in them." Elthin finally said he had something. Else he had wanted to say but it died in his throat. "Before we head out for the day there is one thing I need to take care of." Elthin walked over to her and placed a hand upon her forehead. Muttering a small phrase magical energy filled the room and flowed over Lucine. It covered her entire being doing no such harm but shielding her from the eyes of other mages.

"What I've just done is shield your presence from the eyes of other Magicians. That is if you stay close to me at all times as I believe we need to be on the safe side."

Elthin drew into some more magic as he shielded Lucine's presence from other Magicians.

"So, you mean that they won't be able to see me? Or does that do something else? It'd be cool to be invisible." Lucine questioned. "Still, I have a feeling that there's something we really should get sorted before you start taking me out in public posing as a boy. Like, what'll my 'boy' name be?"

"It means that they won't see you unless you stray too far away. So in some ways you will be invisible and other ways you won't." Elthin pointed out. Lucine then wanted to know what sort of boy name she would be using.

"I was thinking we could use the name Lucius is that okay?" Elthin asked.

"So I can still be 'seen' seen, but not traced?" Lucine asked, still confused by the explanation. "Will they be able to tell that I can burn things?"

Elthin suggested that the name Lucine should be known by in this guise would be 'Lucius'. It didn't sound too far from her name, and she kind of liked the sound of it.

"I kind of like that name, so let's take it." Lucine agreed.

"Something like that yes" Elthin said slowly letting Lucine get the understanding of it. "Not unless you cast any sort of magic" Elthin added in.

Lucine seemed to like the name 'Lucius'.

"Also we will be using my last name for you saying that you're my younger brother. There may come a point in time that someone may ask you about my homeland or even family. I'll have to teach you a few things about them to help them."

"Good thing I don't know how to do that yet." Lucine answered jokingly.

Elthin proposed the idea of Lucine posing as his younger brother when they are outside in the City.

"As long as I don't get found out by anyone, I'm up for anything." Lucine agreed with a shrug.

"You shouldn't need to worry about that there will only be one other person. Who will know who you truly are we shall meet them at the Guild."

Elthin then started to leave the room and Lucine followed after him. Yet he stopped for just one more moment.

"I'd like you to keep a close eye on how I work and how I act. Around other Nobles let alone other people this should help you in learning how to act more like a Noble. Even the things that I say to other people can also help you out."

Elthin informed Lucine that only one other person knows the truth about her, however, that wasn't exactly the case.

"What about those fluffed birds yesterday? Don't they know about me as well?" Lucine asked. "They called me a 'Witch' and all that."

Elthin led Lucine out of the room, but stopped to warn her of one more thing.

"Learn through example. Got it." Lucine affirmed with a nod. "Should I keep my mouth shut, or shouldn't I?"

"Those two from yesterday yes would know you. But they don't know your name or what you can do. Though the boy's master maybe another story altogether." Elthin said.

They then both started walking again and soon enough walked outside. But not before Elthin gave Lucine the dagger he had taken to place on her person.

"The dagger will be for show it'd be best to keep two weapons on your being. This and the one I'm sure is still hidden, as for keeping quiet or not for starters I'd keep quiet you can say hello and tell someone your name. But until fully learning more you should remain quiet unless I ask you something."

Elthin led Lucine outside and handed her another dagger, which he said would just be for show.

"Of course I have the other one on me. However, it's a little uncomfortable right now, considering I don't have the hidden pocket in these clothes. Don't worry, I'm not that stupid. It's just hidden elsewhere and not where you might think." Lucine replied with a grin. "I'll keep this one tucked into my belt. Snatching it from me won't be easy, I can promise you. I know all the tricks people might use."

Elthin informed Lucine to keep to just simple conversation until she's had more practice talking like a Noble.

"I'm not good at being quiet, but I'll try." Lucine simple replied.

"I just would like to take things easy for right now. You could always try talking more if you'd like I'm sure you must have been taught some manners. In the Slums, you can try to add those into how you act but do so in a nice way."

The pair started walking towards the center of the town. Which is where the Guild was located on the way they passed by other people Elthin said hello to them. Or nodded his head in greeting making sure to study the surrounding area. Also with keeping Lucine close by at all times in case someone could be searching for her. Elthin then decided to test Lucine on her name to see if she would respond to it.

"Lucius, how are you enjoying the weather today?" Elthin asked.

Elthin, trying to come to a compromise, suggested that Lucine could still talk if she wanted, as long as she used manners, which he believed she would have been taught in the Slums. Lucine couldn't help but laugh at this outrageous suggestion. Manners, taught in the Slums?! Typical Noble ignorance.

"Really, you think we get taught Manners in the place where all the worst of the worst live?!" Lucine said between laughs. "You really don't know nothing about Slum life. Manners to Slum Dwellers is not knifing someone in the back while they're on the shitter."

Elthin really had no clue about Slum life if he truly believed that.

While walking along, Elthin decided to test Lucine on her new name with the most generic of conversation starters. It took her a second or two to figure out that she was the target of the conversation.

"Just an average day here, I'd say. Heat, heat and more heat." Lucine simply answered. What else could she say about the weather? They were in the middle of a Desert, after all. Sun and heat were the only things they got.

Lucine thought it was funny that Elthin she was taught manners in the Slums. "The thought crossed my mind, " Elthin said. They kept walking and then passed a corner store they both went inside the store and Elthin looked around for a hat. He was going to buy it for Lucine to wear since the thought of Arundal finding her out. So Elthin picked out a small travelers hat for Lucine it was just a simple thing really. He paid for it and they both left the story shortly after.

"I should have given you a hat to wear before we left. Here wear this for right now at least until we get home." He handed the small hat to her.

When they were walking again he had tested her. Lucine had passed his test he'd need to test her again at a later time. After ten more minutes of walking, they both arrived at the Magician's Guild it was a large type of desert castle that'd you see in desert areas. However, this one was a lot bigger than the others Elthin had been to. They arrived at a large set of wooden doors which led inside three stories up were towers upon the four corners of the castle.

"We are here for your second test I'd like you to watch everything that goes on inside of this place," Elthin told her before they were to go inside.

Elthin, during the walk to the Magician's Guild, popped into a Hat Shop to pick something up. Lucine did mention that she may need a hat before they even left the house but, as normal, forgetfulness came into play. After the quick stop, and the donning of the Hat by Lucine, they continued to the Magician's Guild.

Upon arrival, Elthin gave his second test to Lucine. requesting her to watch interaction between Magicians.

"Whatever you say." Lucine shrugged as she took in the sheer size of the Magician's Guild.

Elthin walked up to the set of doors and opened them. He let Lucine inside first and then followed after shutting the door behind him. Inside the Magician's Guild was several other Magician's at the moments walking this way and that. Two were having a deep talk about who knows what off in the corner of the room was a desk. With a person behind it and in the middle of the room was the statue of the Arch Mage Yassen.

The inside of the Guild looked even more confusing and larger than the outside. Lucine had no idea just what route led to what, and she couldn't even begin to understand some of the Magical marvels going on inside of the place. There were a couple of Magicians chatting around one of the displays of an uncovered relic, which looked kind of like a large disc with some curved blades attached. However, the blades didn't look all that sharp. There was some caption about the object at the bottom of the display case but she had no idea what it was noting.

In the middle of the large open entrance hall was a equally large statue of some Old magician in much more vibrant and flamboyant robes than all of the others. He must have been a figure of importance. What disturbed Lucine most was the fact that all the people inside of the guild were all males. She hoped that the rumors were not true, but it turns out that the Old Ways still stick.

Letting Lucine have her look around the Guild entrance for a time longer. He then led her towards the desk where another Magician had joined the other one. This was a help desk where people could go to get help in certain Magician matters.

"Excuse me I'd like to sign up my younger brother Lucius here to enter the guild?" Elthin

Elthin requested to sign up Lucine at the main help-desk. The Magician behind the counter, like most of the others, looked around middle age. He passed over a registration form to Elthin and a quill with an inkwell.

"Please fill this in." The Magician simple instructed, it was clear that new applicants were quite common if his lack of enthusiasm for yet another new student was anything to go by.

The registration form included everything which most registration forms included: Name, age, emergency contacts, known medical issues, the usual. This one also included what power they were known to use out of the four elements, how they came across knowing they had this power, what kind of spells they already knew (if any), whether they were better at offensive, defensive or supportive Magic and any known problem areas for Magical Learning.

There was also a section for the applicant to sign and date. Oh...

Elthin was handed a registration form to fill out with an inkwell.

He then led Lucine away so they could sit down on some chairs. As he read over the form to her slowly. "This is going to be a small pain as I'll need to ask you if you have any medical issues that I don't know about. As for the others, it should be easy to fill in." Elthin then started to fill out the form the best that he could. When he got to the section on what she was best at he looked at it for a while then asked Lucine something.

"In this section, I need to list which you'd be good at. What sounds best to you offensive, defensive or support magic?" Elthin asked.

Elthin asked Lucine a few questions in regards to the registration form.

"Medical issues?" Lucine questioned. "What're they?"

Elthin also asked about what kind of Magic she'd be good at.

"What do you think I'd be good at? I've only really just known this power for little over a day. I've no idea what I can do." Lucine replied.

"Medical issues would be things that are wrong with your body." Elthin tried to explain the best that he could.

"Fron what I know I'd say you were good at offensive magic" Elthin tells her after she asked. Him what he thought she was good at.

Elthin tried to explain medical issues to Lucine.

"Nothing's wrong with my body as far as I can tell." Lucine simply answered.

Elthin decided to put down that Lucine was good at Offensive Magic.

"Whatever you think." Lucine shrugged.

Lucine mentioned there was nothing wrong with her body.

"Well, since I'm not sure what your issues are I will list none"

He filled out the section for her issues. "Then we will go for offensive then, but I'll teach you everything" He filled out that section as well.

Both parties came to an agreement on the idea that there was nothing wrong with Lucine in the medical department. They also agreed that offensive magic was the way to go for Magical Aptitude. And now came the final page of the registration form:

'Please could the Parent/Guardian of the applicant in question sign their consent for a medical examination to take place to determine fitness levels for combat lessons.'

Well...

Elthin once was done came to the final page of the form he read it over. "It says I'm suppose to sign this for a medical examination, What this means is they are going to exam you this can be a problem as they might find out that your a girl and not a boy this can lead to problems." Elthin told her.

He wanted to fill it out but wasn't sure if he wanted to risk Lucine being found out.

Elthin informed Lucine of the mandatory medical examination. She didn't seem too pleased to hear it.

"It'd be done by a Doctor, wouldn't it? Aren't Doctors made to promise not to tell others about the people under their care?" Lucine asked, hoping that this was true. "Hopefully, they won't tell anybody, but, they may not want to keep me on after they find out. What should we do?!"

"Yes it would be done by a Doctor and they are made to promise that. But sometimes they might tell someone something." Elthin thought over what they should do if they went through with it they could be found out. If not Elthin would be teaching Lucine everything himself and she would be an outlawed Magician.

"I want to go through with it but the risk it too high with the chance of them finding. Out the true about you which doesn't sit well with me. What do you want to do should we go through with it or not?" Elthin asked.

Elthin tried to explain the 'Patient Confidentiality' with Lucine.

"Then it's not a promise if they don't stick to it." She answered, a little angry at the dismissal of a promise.

Eventually, they were stuck between a rock and a hard place for this decision.

"I'd say we better risk it. Better to try and fail than to not try at all." Lucine sighed.

Lucine decided that she wanted to go through with it.

"Then it's a risk we will have to take" Elthin then filled out the last page before. Signing his name and date to the form. They both go up and walked back over to the desk and handed the form back to the Magician.

"I've filled it out here you go"

Elthin filled out the last part of the Registration form and handed it back to the clerk. They looked over the documents and were about to stamp on the seal of approval until they noticed something.

"Your brother hasn't signed this document yet." The clerk informed Elthin as he handed the document back. "We just need a little signature here and a date."

The clerk pointed to the part of the form which needed signing by the applicant. It was a simple declaration of understanding of the registration process and an approval of accuracy for the information submitted.

Lucine, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible, did a little 'Signature squiggle' in the needed place before handing it back. The clerk simply shrugged at the looping lines on the paper.

"Good enough." He said as he stamped the document. "The registration process takes two to three days, workflow dependent, before being finalised. The medical examination will be booked after the process is done for the next working day. The Medical examination will take a full day to be completed and it will be held at the local Apothecary building."

Elthin had thought that he was the only one who needed to sign it. Not having Lucine sign it but it turned out he was wrong. "Oh, sorry about that" Elthin handed the form over to Lucine to sign she signed it the best she could and the clerk was fine with it.

"Okay, that's nice to know about, I'd also like to make a request to speak with Elder who took part in the investigation in the disturbance in the Slums yesterday is possible?" Elthin asked.

Elthin requested to speak to The Elder. The clerk raised an eyebrow inquisitively at this.

"Do you have an appointment? The Elder is a very busy person. We can't just have people aimlessly converse with him." The Clerk asked. "The Elder is presently in a meeting about the current situation. Alongside the fire breaking out in the Slums yesterday, we also have an unexpected visit from some very important people in the next few days. We really only heard that they'd landed here today."

The clerk asked if Elthin had an appointment with the Elder who he wished to speak to.

"Well, no I don't but can I set up an appointment and I'd like to sign myself. And my student here up to do battle against Lord Arundal and his student Frantz?" Elthin asked. He then heard that the Elder was in a meeting this made things harder. He also learned they were getting an unexpected visit from some important people in a few days.

"Just who are these important people coming by?"

Elthin explained the situation to the Clerk.

"Lord Arundal and Young Master Frantz have already issued a formal request for a duel. Their opponents are Lord Elthin of House Veldhar and some Slum girl who's of no consequence." The Clerk answered. "However, while I do know that you, most certainly, are the challenged party, what does your 'Younger Brother' have to do with fighting for a dreg from the Slums?"

Lucine was clearly fighting back anger in regards to how this Magician was insulting her to her face.

"Maybe this 'Slum Girl' has asked me to be her fighter for the coming battle?" Lucine suggested, suppressing her Slum Dialect. "After all, wouldn't two fighters from House Veldhar be more suited to a Magician's duel than a Slum Girl?"

Elthin asked about the important visitors.

"Haven't you heard? A Inquisition Airship from the Mainland has docked at the Argenta Military Blockade today and is requisitioning one of their 'Steel Calvary' to reach here by the latest of two day's time." The Clerk answered.

Elthin learned that Arundal and Frantz had already issued a formal request for a duel. The clerk then spoke about Lucine fighting for herself being that Slum girl. He was about to respond when Lucine then spoke up he turned to her. He could clearly see the anger in her eyes and spoke up before something happened.

"Yes the 'Slum Girl' did ask for him to be her fighter and I thought it would. Be a good idea as it would give Lucius here some much-needed experience. And two fighters from House Veldhar is must better than one."

The clerk told Elthin about the important visitors.

"Sorry, but this is the first I've heard I've been fairly busy as of late. Why would they wish to come here?" Elthin asked.

Elthin gave his reasoning behind Lucine fighting as 'Lucius' for the coming battle.

"Really." The clerk huffed. "Even if it does give him some needed combat conditioning, why would we agree to fight for a Slum Dweller?"

Elthin was insitent on allowing 'Lucius' to fight in the duel.

"Very well." The Clerk sighed, giving in to the opposing side. "You just need to sign the Challenge letter and we can get things set up."

The clerk pulled forth two very haughtily written documents. They appeared to be on the basic challenge request template, but the content was much more like a rant of 'Honor' and 'Justice' rather than a formal combat request. The second document, clearly written by Fratz, was potentially the most down to earth one of the pair, simply stating 'I wish to fight the stupid girl who called me stupid'.

As for the reasoning behind the Inquisition's visit:

"Apparently, that fire in the Slums yesterday was caused by a Witch. They've come here to 'eradicate' that menace before it can cause more destruction." The Clerk answered. "That's really all that's publicly known at present. The workings of the Inquisition are of utmost secrecy."

"Because he didn't like what was happening to her nor did I," Elthin said.

The Clerk then mentioned for him to sign the form letter. The Clerk then gave them two documents that were much later than what he got before. He read them over and then signed the letter and gave Frantz letter to Lucine to sign as well.

He then learned of the Inquisition's visit.

"So, that's why they are here," Elthin said quietly as he thought things over. This made things a lot harder now to deal with he didn't want to deal with the Inquisition at all. "Oh, have you heard anything from the Artaria Continent at all. I haven't been able to get any up to date news from there for several weeks."

Lucine, again, gave her 'Signature Squiggle' to the paper presented to her and handed it back to the Clerk.

"Processing these will take roughly a day, setting up the arena can take a few days depending on how booked out it is and actually getting the publicity out to make it an Event is quite time consuming. You can expect it to be at least a week before the actual duel goes forward." The Clerk informed the pair. This guy really sounded like he hated his job.

Elthin requested if the Guild had heard anything from the Artaria branch recently.

"Our most recent conferences are recorded in the Communication Matrix in our information room. You can find it through the hallway to the right and in the main Library." The Clerk informed Elthin. "I really don't understand Argentian inventions, but they do make our Scribes' lives easier."

The Clerk explained how long things would need to take to set up. Before the duel was to take place.

"That's okay with me."

The Clerk then spoke about how things were recorded on the Communication Matrix. Elthin then thanked the Clerk and mentioned for Lucine to follow him as he. Went over to the invention Elthin pointed out where the Library was to Lucine. As he set up the invention to learn about what was going on in his homeland.

Elthin led Lucine to the Library.

"More dusty books?" She sighed as she complied with the request.

The communication matrix looked as complicated to make as it was to operate. It appeared to be loads of overlapping pieces of Magical scripture on papers wrapping around a globe-like object like an orbiting Solar System. There was no evident 'on' switch, so the Librarian on duty activated to device with some complicated chants, dousing of Magical Oils and some weird prayer like hand gestures before pushing the globe and causing it to spin. The object grew bigger to nearly fill the whole dome-like place it was kept in before making some sounds like gears grinding into action before an image of the Elder at the Artarian branch appeared inside of the dome, orbited by the magical scriptures, which had just begun to glow.

"Whoa..." Lucine sighed as she watched the whole display go forth.

The Elder in the image began to give routine updates on the Artarian branch, like movement of new entrants, latest discoveries in the Alchemy labs, drunken reported sightings of Silver Dragons in the snows, what new kind of 'Inspiration' they were getting from their latest Alchemical experimental 'Mind Expanding' herbs. The usual kind of things.

"That's what libraries are nothing more than dusty books"

Lucine didn't seem all that impressed with the display that was just set up. Elthin listened to the Elder of his home branch speak up about the latest things. Elthin was able to learn quite a few things he learned for starters that. A new set of ruins had been discovered twenty miles away from his hometown. They appeared to have found some sort of ancient weapon and treasure buried there. He also learned about how there seemed to be some more sights of silver dragons even going as far to say. There had been a sighting of a white dragon in the area around the southeastern coast, This excited Elthin and he wished to learn more but there was nothing more to say. It was just taken as a drunken report. Nothing else was new and Elthin then shut off the display.

"I want to check out those ruins near home."

Elthin regaled the report with interest while Lucine was too busy fixated on trying to find out how some scraps of metal and old parchments can create such wonders. When he learned everything he wanted to, Elthin forcibly shut off the console, much to its own protests of screeching gears and grinding metal. Perhaps Argentian technology has some very strict operating procedures, if the Librarian's panicked reactions of dousing the machine with more sacred oils and profusely apologising through prayer to the Machine, were anything to go by.

Once the display had ended, Lucine was snapped back to reality.

"Oh, what did you say? I wasn't listening." Lucine quickly answered.

"I said I wanted to check out some ruins near home if given a chance. Anyway the duel with Frantz will take either a view days to a week at most before it happens." Elthin reminded her. As he started to leave the Guild he was feeling hungry and wanted to check something out as well.

"I've got a question for you before all the crazy stuff happened. Did you notice anything odd before then like you might have been being watched or someone strange visited your home. Often saying they were a friend anything like that happen?"

"This is why you'll never find a wife." Lucine sighed. "Putting ruins before girls."

"Yeah, I know that. I was there with you when the bored guy said so, remember." Lucine answered.

Elthin asked a question in regards to the previous incident.

"Nope. Nothing at all. It was just a normal day, like any other." Lucine replied. "I only knew that stuff was going down when I got up to use the pot in the middle of the night and heard shouting and lots of noise."

"I believe I already found myself a wife that being you." Elthin countered.

Lucine knew again about what was to come. Then she answered his question to her.

"Do, you remember what the shouting was saying?" Elthin asked.

"Ew, no way!" Lucine laughed back. "You sound like a creeper! Stranger danger!"

"I can't really say. All I heard were raised voices and the other noises overpowered them. Then, you know the rest. I went down to check and ended up getting a lantern blast to the side and fainting."

"You know you want a piece of the good stuff" Elthin laughed back at her. He got serious for a few moments in regards to her answer.

"Want to go down to your house and check things out for yourself. Maybe we can find something new down there that hasn't been discovered yet?" Elthin asked.

"If searching through charred wood will help you, then be my guest. I wanna go check out what's going on down there as well." Lucine replied.

"We will check out what's down there then head to lunch." Elthin started walking towards the Slums but in the middle of his walk he stopped and looked towards the west. Where the gates to the city were located part of him longed to travel outside those walls. But he had other matters to attend to and kept on his way.

Unlike earlier, when Elthin was walking through town, it appeared to be deserted at present. There were the usual peddlers on their stalls in the trade district, but they weren't barking their wares at passers by. Everyone acted like silence was a new law which had to be followed, and nobody lingered for too long outside of their own homes. Even the Noble children, who were often out showing off whatever new parlor trick they had learned. were nowhere to be seen. Only one person seemed to ignore the strange goings on and continued with their daily routine. Outside of the local Apothecary was a small humaniod figure picking herbs from window baskets before placing them into another basket and taking the clippings back into the main building.

Elthin arrived at the Slums and the usual smell of human waste and other unpleasant things assault through the shield he had up before it kicked in the filter.

"Smells like home." Was all Lucine said as she began to lead the way into the Slums.

When Elthin and Lucine were walking through town he could see how deserted it was. It was like everything was so quiet for a reason maybe what happened in the Slums. Had the people scared or it could have been another matter. He watched the people going about their business before entering the Slums where he was greeted by the smell of human waste.

"How fun" Elthin followed after Lucine.

While the pair was walking through the slums, they were closely being watched by numerous waifs and suspected pickpockets. Being two rich-looking people in such a place probably attracted the wrong sort of attention.

A small child, while running through the streets, bashed into Elthin's side and shouted back.

"Watch it, powder-poof!"

The kind charged onwards until, in one swift motion, Lucine gently extended her leg to the side the child was running on, who didn't notice the movement and tripped over. Lucine's hand quickly moved to grab something from the air before heading back to Elthin and handed the item to him. It was, actually, his money pouch.

"Better keep a tight grip of everything while you're here." Lucine cautioned with a wink. "Everybody's got sticky fingers, in more ways than one."

While walking Elthin could tell they were being watched. He looked back at the various people watching him then was bumped into by someone from behind. Elthin staggered forward before regaining his balance.

A moment later he saw Lucine extend her leg and the boy tripped over. Lucine appeared to catch something which turned out to be his money pouch. "Thanks for the warning" Elthin said watching as the kind ran off.

"Not many Nobles come down here, so we're all really on edge when we see some. Some of us, though, like the kid who just ran off, like to try our skills out on 'simple' targets." Lucine informed Elthin as they continued one. "Most of the time, when a Noble comes down to the Slums, it only means bad things. Lots of Dwellers have been taken off to slave ships at Port Ralent, or sold in the brothels in the Noble's district, despite how many Summers they have to their name."

Lucine evidently didn't like talking about the fates of Slum Dwellers when Nobles were concerned.

After a short while of walking, the pair arrived at the remains of Lucine's home.

"Here we are. Sorry for the mess." Lucine joked as she pointed to the charred wood on the floor where the foundations of a house once stood.

Lucine pointed out not much Nobles usually came down here. And how some of the kids here liked to try out their skills on targets. "Then I take it us being here in their eyes means trouble?" Lucine pointed out some other things about where they were sold to. Soon they arrived at Lucine's home or what was left of it.

Elthin walked up to the mess that was her home and started looking around.

"You think?" Lucine asked rhetorically. "I'd say we do what we must do and get out of here before the Taverns start to open."

Elthin began to look around the burned down Home while Lucine kept a watchful eye out for any kind of 'Dweller Greetings' coming their way.

During Elthin's search he looked for anything odd that shouldn't belong in a persons home. Maybe something from the Noble's area was here. Or part of the outfit the person was wearing when they came down here the night before he tried to search for these things.

Elthin searched for evidence, though his search bore no results. Anything that may have been incriminating evidence was either too charred to be recognised or just a pile of ash on the floor, A few supporting beams of the House were collapsed over one another near the back of the remains, but moving them, even in this state, would still take a few people to do, or a lot of prep time for a Magician to prepare a spell.

Elthin didn't find anything in what he was looking for he saw the fallen beams. In the back of the house maybe something was hidden under them. But seeing as how they would take time to move with either people or a spell would take some time. He currently did have the man power of prep time to move them.

"Damn it"

"Everything okay back there?" Lucine asked upon hearing the exclamation. "Want me to come help?"

While abandoning her post wasn't a very good idea, things seem quiet at present, so she could offer a few moments of her time.

"No there is a bunch of fallen beams back here that I'd like to search under. But they need some time to move and I don't have the time to move them on my own." Elthin told her. Lucine then wanted to help out. "No, stay where you are we don't know if anyone is watching us at present. Best to keep an eye out on if anyone is?" Elthin called back.

He moved away from the fallen beams. He closed his eyes and tried to search for any faint traces of magic. Trying to look for any of the three other elements other than fire?

Elthin insisted that Lucine stayed where she was, explaining that the reason behind the exclamation was the fact that there were beams blocking the back of the ruins.

"Okay, if you're sure." Lucine answered, sounding a little unsure herself.

Elthin tried to find traces of Magic in the air aside from fire. There was Water and Wind remnants, possibly from the Magicians extinguishing the fire with these two and Earth from the wooden beams and the flooring of the ruins. There was also some traces of an unknown Magical source, which seemed closer to what Alchemists used in their Alchemical compounds, but it seemed very close to just being something from a nearby tavern caught on the wind.

As Elthin felt for any other traces of magic he was able to pick. Up both Water and Wind remnants, he thought on these for a while and came to the conclusion they. Had been used to place the fire out then he felt some sort of unknown Magical source, this seemed like something an Alchemist might use he was familiar with them but didn't really interact with them much.

Yet Elthin couldn't tell if it was truly something they would use. Or just something from the nearby tavern a short distance from them. "From where you are do you see anything that seems out of place and doesn't belong here?" Elthin called out to Lucine.

Elthin asked if Lucine noticed anything out of place.

"Nope. Everything is how I remember it, overflowing gutters and all." Lucine answered. "I wouldn't know what to look out for in the ways of Magic even if something was off."

"Why not try searching with your eyes perhaps something was also used that wasn't magic?" Elthin asked. He started to search around the back of the ruins for any sort of thing that didn't belong say like a weapon or a piece of an elemental stone.

"What else am I going to search with? My feet? There's nothing out of place. The barrels of rotten food are all in the right place, the overflowing gutters are a little more overflowing than before, there are a few more trenches for crapping in, but that's expected. Nothing is different." Lucine retorted.

Elthin continued to search the ruins. As before, there was nothing but broken glass, charred wood and pebbles in the ruins. A few pieces of the glass had a bit of dried blood on, probably from the lamp explosion, but, without an Alchemist's or Physician's help, it was impossible to determine who the blood came from, or how old the blood was. There was a few glints of light through the cracks between the fallen beams near the back of the house, but that could just be glass under them as well. Wait...those glints aren't as bright as the ones from the glass, like they're reflecting off something metal.

"You can search with your mouth instead?" Elthin joked for a mere moment.

He went back to searching the ruins but as before he was unable to find something at first. But he did find a few pieces of glass with dried blood on them, He picked these up and placed them into a small pouch on his person. It would be worth to study them further or take them to an Alchemist or Physician for help. It was only moments later than Elthin noticed the light through the cracks between the fallen beams. He had thought these were from the glass but they seemed to be relfecting off something metal. Elthin quickly made his way over to the fallen beams "I think I found something."

Elthin then tried to get a better look at if there was indeed metal there.

"Only you would come up with something like that." Lucine giggled. "Searching with a mouth is done, but not for this kind of searching."

Elthin noticed the glints of light from underneath the fallen beams.

"What have you found?" Lucine asked. "Anything good?"

Elthin began to closely examine underneath the beams through the gaps and cracks in the wood. There were only slight indications that something was under there, but the space was too confined to make it. Whatever it was looked to be made of either brass or copper, and oddly shaped for a weapon. Perhaps it was not a weapon at all, but something more incriminating?

Lucine wanted to know what he had found.

"I think so, but it's hard to tell just what it is." Elthin told her.

He tried to examine things underneath the beams more closely. He was able to that something was indeed under them but space was too confined to make it. Elthin couldn't tell what he saw was either made out of brass or copper and it was oddly shaped. He then called Lucine over to him so, she could have a look at what he found.

"I want to get what's under these beams out of there. But the question that comes to mind is how I mentioned earlier that it'd take more manpower or time. To cast a spell to move these beams and that's time we don't have. I would suggest we leave and contact the Magician's Guild for help but how do we know that if we leave. Someone wouldn't come by here and take what we've found from under the beams?" Elthin asked her.

He looked at the fallen beams as if trying to think of the best course of action to take.

Elthin called Lucine over and talked her through his plans.

"I may have an idea. It'll be dangerous and not very sneaky, but it should work. We'll need to move back as far away as we can from the beams, though." Lucine suggested. "Perhaps my Magic could work?"

Lucine wanted to try and use her magic to see if it would help move the beams. "How do we know that your Magic might not burn through the what's underneath?" Elthin asked. He wasn't against going through with her idea just wanting to be on the safe side.

"I don't know, but I trust it. I trust Her." Lucine answered, "She wouldn't want to destroy our only chance at finding out the truth. What I intend to do is ask for a small explosion to happen in the cracks. Hopefully, that'll move the beams off the top and allow us to get to what's underneath. However, I'm not sure how strong this explosion would be, so I think we should keep clear of the House before I do it."

Elthin listened to what Lucine had to say and nodded his head.

"Okay, we can try your idea but I want you to take it easy. In case something does happen I'll create a barrier which shall protect us." Elthin chanted softly to himself as he started to call on his Magic forming unseen barrier around the pair this one. Was much stronger than the one he had used on Lucine the other day. Elthin also went on to place barriers around the remains of the home not wanting the explosion damage anything else.

"When you are ready you can begin."

Elthin placed barriers over Lucine, himself and the remains of the house in case the explosion was a little too hard to control. Once all was present and accounted for, Lucine backed off to the wall opposite the house and closed her eyes. She looked to be almost in prayer as swirls of red and brown magical energy surrounded her, causing her clothing to flutter a little in a spectral breeze created by the energy, Red Magical particles condensed in between the cracks of the fallen beams and formed a small dome with a dark orange core. Seconds later, a large explosion was heard as the beams blasted off against the back of the house and the surrounding stone walls before shattering into tiny shrapnel pieces and splintering off in all directions. The explosion attracted some attention, as expected, but no Dweller even tried to contest the cause of the explosions. Once the after effects of the explosion wore off, the way to the place under the beams was freed. Lucine finished her casting, a few seconds later and opened her eyes to look upon the carnage she had wrought.

"That was a little more powerful than I expected..." Lucine commented, looking rather shocked at what she just did.

Elthin backed away from Lucine to let her do her thing. He kept a close watch on her and the barriers around the house. Making sure everything would go smoothly he also called forth a small blue ice bird he formed out of Magic. Sending it into the skies overhead to keep watch on the area in case anyone was watching the two of them at work. Elthin then could see red magical particles condense around the cracks of the fallen beams. Before forming a large explosion blasting the beams off the thing it was covering. The barriers held which was a good thing and Elthin looked around to see some people looking their way.

"You did a good job there," Elthin told her with a smile.

He kept the barriers up just in case and walked towards where the beams had. Once been he mentioned Lucine over with a hand. Kneeling down on the ground he took a closer look at what it was that was underneath.

"Thanks, I guess?" Lucine answered to the praise, still a little amazed at her own work. "Breaking things has always been what I'm good at."

Elthin and Lucine went to check out what they'd just unearthed. Now that the beams were gone, it was clear what was being hidden by them. A copper mask lay on the ground. The details of the mask carried a chalky white face crying tears of blood. The outer rim of the mask carried a strange spiked motif. It looked very ritualistic, more so than expected, and perhaps carried some inclination as to what may have led the attack on the house. Perhaps a more knowledgeable person could shed some light on this discovery?

"I'm sure in time you will be good at other things to like Magic?" Elthin told her.

What both of them found was a copper mask the mask carried a chalky white face. That looked to be crying tears of blood the outer rim of the mask. Had a strange spiked motif and looked very ritualistic. "I've never seen a mask like this before" Elthin picked it up and held it in his hands before handing it to Lucine to look at.

"I also found some glass with blood on it. I'm not sure if the blood could have been a member of your family or from the attacker."

Elthin went to hand the mask over to Lucine, but she declined.

"No thanks. I don't wanna even touch that. It gives me the creeps." Lucine answered as she shook her head and hands in dismissal. "I'll rather take the bloodied glass than that thing."

Elthin reached into his pocket and took out the case. Which held the glass with the blood on them and handed it to her. "You can take one out, to look at it closer just turn the top." Elthin pointed out. The bird he had summoned found no traces of anyone watching them. Who might not appear who they should be he dismissed the bird with a wave of his hand.

"We've got two clues here we need answers to but I'm glad we found something."

"I've had enough bad experiences with glass over the last few days, so I'll just carry them instead." Lucine answered. "No good asking me for answers. maybe we should try that old guy at the Guild? He's said to know a lot of stuff."

"That's a good idea."

They then both left the remains of her home and started back to the Guild. "What are your thoughts on what we have found?" Elthin asked.

On the way back to the Guild, Elthin asked Lucine what her thoughts on the clues were.

"I think we might be dealing with, what're they called, a cult?" Lucine suggested. "That mask is just plain creepy, so it'd fit a weird gathering of crazy people."

Lucine considered the bloody glass shards as well.

"They could be covered in my blood, if they are the ones which hit me." She proposed. "I'm not having no needle jabbed into me to check, though. Those blood-suckers can keep their pointy things to themselves."

Elthin listened in on Lucine thoughts.

"Perhaps we are dealing with one but why a Cult though as I've not dealt with many before." Elthin said. It just led to more questions he needed answers to.

"They could be yours or maybe the attackers who knows. But don't you already have your own pointy things on you?" Elthin said the last part as a joke. The pair soon reached the Guild and went inside.

"I don't know. I just thought that it looked Cult-y." Lucine shrugged.

Elthin joked about the 'pointy thing' comment from Lucine.

"Sure, I've got my own, but I don't go sticking them into people for laughs." Lucine answered.

They then reached the Guild and headed inside. The same bored Clerk Magician was at the help desk, looking quite confused as to why the strange pair from earlier had come back so soon.

The pair walked up the Clerk Magician who was surprised to see them. "I know, I know I haven't set up an appointment but can we please speak with the Elder. I requested earlier as I believe he would like to know about something important." Elthin told the Clerk.

The Clerk magician had to do a double take to ensure that he wasn't seeing things as the very same pair from earlier came back requesting the very same thing.

"The Elder has just finished his meeting. What could possibly be of such dire importance that you must see him right now?" The Clerk asked again.

The Clerk magician told them that the Elder had just finished his meeting and asked why. They wanted to see him right now. "We have found somethings of importance that he might want to know about. It's things that have to deal with the current investigation about what happened in the Slums yesterday."

Elthin explained why he just had to see the Elder right this moment.

"You and your Slums." The Clerk sighed. "If you like them so much, you might as well just move there. Anyway, you are not a member of the Inquisition so you should just leave suspected Cultist cases to them and go about your merry way."

The Clerk didn't seem convinced to let them see the Elder right now.

The Clerk still wouldn't let them see the Elder.

"This is getting us nowhere damn it" Elthin snapped. He knew the Clerk was just doing his job but it was still upsetting that they had finally found something. Only to be denied seeking out the answers for it. "Is there any way we can see right now?" Elthin asked one last time.

Elthin let his anger take control for a moment.

"If you continue to take that tone, I may have to ask you to leave." The Clerk cautioned. "Unless the Elder specifically asks for you, or if you have an appointment with him, only then can you go and see him."

"Please, Mister, let us see the Elder." Lucine begged, trying to look as cute as she could in her current attire. "My brother only wants to protect the innocent from being hurt any more. Please, let us see the Elder so we can let him know what we found."

The Clerk didn't seem too impressed by Lucine's attempted seduction.

"While he may be trying to 'protect the innocent' Slum Dwellers, it still violates Rule 24, Paragraph 36, Subsection 89 of the 'Guild Conduct and Command' legislation. That rule clearly states that nobody of a lower standing in the Guild's chain of command can see the Elder without a prebooked appointment or unless they are requested." The Clerk countered.

"While that rule may need to be upheld, it does not prevent one from seeking guidance for an ongoing investigation if they have evidence which may prevent further assaults from arising." The Elder cut in as he entered the Entrance hall. "If this young man does, indeed, have evidence which may aid in resolving this case, then, by all means, would I request a meeting with him."

"The last time I was here I had asked to set up an appointment with the Elder. But nothing came of it you ignored me on that" Elthin told him. Lucine then tried her hand at letting them see the Elder yet it didn't seem to work. As the Clerk spoke out about the rules Elthin was about to counter against this when he heard the Elder voice speak.

"I'm sorry for interupting your time Elder but my student Lucius here and I have. Found some clues that we would like you to take a look at perhaps we can speak in private?" Elthin asked. He turned to Lucine and gave her a wink for helping out.

"I was setting up an appointment. There's a lot of paperwork which must be done to do so and also some running between interested parties to find a time suitable." The Clerk retorted. "You are just too impatient to let the customary procedures run their course."

The argument was about to get much more heated until the Elder stepped in. The Clerk had not counter to the Elder's statement.

"Run along now and leave me to my business. You have your meeting, now let me finish my work." The Clerk informed Elthin.

The Elder regarded 'Lucius' and a glint of realisation appeared in his aged eyes. Even under all of the disguise, Lucine's vibrant ember-coloured hair stood out the most.

"You may bring the young Master with you. we have much to discuss, I do believe." The Elder answered. "Come, we can talk in my office."

The Elder began to slowly lead the way towards his office.

Lucine simply smiled in response to the wink from Elthin. Her feminine charm may not have worked in this outfit, but it still felt good to try and use it again.

The Clerk had been setting up the appointment. Before the argument with the Clerk went on things calmed down. Elthin and Lucine moved away from the Clerk and the Elder seemed to know that 'Lucius' was Lucine he didn't mention anything on it though.

"Thank you for allowing us to see you Elder" Elthin and Lucine followed the Elder towards his office. Where Elthin was trying to think over about what to tell him about.

"It is no trouble to see a future student and their Guardian." The Elder answered. "If you had not requested the meeting, I would have when I had the chance."

After moving through some more confusing corridors of the Guild, the Elder's office came into view.

"My office is warded against all forms of intrusion so we shall be safe in there to discuss the future of Young Master Lucius." The Elder continued. "It will be nice to see some progress being made on this case."

The Elder mentioned that he would have set up his own meeting.

They soon came to the Elder's office which he was told was warded.

"That is good we wouldn't want others overhearing in what is about to be discussed. "I've taken some liberties in speeding along Lucius progress but it will take time."

The Elder and his followers entered the Office as he closed the door behind them.

"You may remove your hat, Young Miss. Flames do not like to be contained, after all." The Elder informed Lucine, who just looked shocked that her foolproof disguise was seen through so easily. "Worry not, young one, I am not as misguided as the masses. Magic, after all, in some beliefs, was a gift to Mankind from the Dragons, and we all know that Dragons may also, indeed, be female."

Unsure of how to take this radically different belief, Lucine looked to Elthin for guidance.

"How is she taking on to Magic?" The Elder asked Elthin as he took a seat on the large ornate chair by the desk in the middle of the room. "Has she learned that it does not like to be commanded?"

They entered into the office and the door closed behind them.

The Elder asked for Lucine to remove her hat which surprised her. Seeing as he knew who she was Elthin turned to her. "You can trust him, Lucine, he won't do anything to betray you at all he's a friend," Elthin told her trying to help her begin to trust the Elder. And mentioning for her to take off her hat. The Elder then asked how her taking to Magic was working out.

"For starters, it didn't go so well, as we had some hard times. But Lucine here has learned that it doesn't like to be commanded. She recently cast her own spell to remove some fallen beams at her home. I've also agreed to teach her to learn to read which shall help in her process. I can see that she has potential to become a great Magician one day."

Elthin seemed to agree to the idea that Lucine could trust this particular person. She took off her hat and shook out her long hair, letting the scarlet locks fall into place once more down her back.

"Such a radiant colour should be seen by all. Not hidden away." The Elder commented. "A perfect match to your gift, and such a rarity in Youth these days."

"Um, thank you." Lucine quietly answered. "My mother has hair like this, so I'd like to keep it shown."

Elthin explained how Lucine had taken on to Magic and what kind of additional help she may need.

"She is a quick learner." The Elder replied. "Most Apprentice's do not believe that Magic has a will of its own, and will often demand things of it, resulting in it retaliating."

"Yeah. She tried snapping at me when I tried to force her to cast things for me." Lucine added in, resulting in an intrigued look from the Elder.

"She?" He asked. "Tell me, child, what did you see when you first found your Gift?"

Lucine explained her case to the Elder, who took in all the information.

"It appears that my beliefs have some ground." The Elder mused. "If that is, indeed, what you saw, then, maybe, that could lead on to the return of the Dragons. Perhaps these drunken sightings are not to be scoffed at?"

"I'm sorry, Sir, I don't know what you mean." Lucine replied.

The Elder took a moment to look at Lucine and then spoke to her. Elthin in the meantime listened in on what was said. Lucine seemed to kinda quiet about things and Elthin thought she might just be nervous. The Elder spoke some more and learned some things when Lucine spoke up about 'She'.

"Lucine did mention the same thing to me when I was teaching. While I'm not sure what this truly means maybe her Magic is mixed in with that of a dragon's power. I also think that perhaps Lucine here can be an 'Adept' someone who can control more than one form of magic at once" Elthin pointed out.

He let this sink in.

"Maybe there is more to the sightings I recently heard that there was a sighting. Of a white dragon in my homeland"

Elthin explained that Lucine mentioned the same thing to him during her lessons, even going as far as to suggest that she may be an 'Adept'. The Elder looked a little worried about the idea of Lucine being an Adept.

"For her own safety, in these dire times, I sincerely hope that she does not show the traits of an Adept to soon, if she is one." The Elder answered. "We do not want her to attract undue attention to herself, even more so with the Inquisition coming here soon."

Lucine looked a little scared about this sudden change in tone.

"Um, what is this 'Inquisition'?" Lucine asked. "I keep hearing of them but nobody told me any more about them."

The Elder seemed worried about Lucine maybe being an Adept.

"She hasn't yet but there is always the chance. I have had the Inquisition speak with me a few times in the past. I wouldn't want anything to happen to Lucine here I would give my life to protect her." Elthin stated.

Lucine seemed worried and asked about the Inquisition.

"They are a special group of people who work for the Arch-Mage. They handle very special cases and often use more force then needed in getting what they want. They are like Magician's in a way but also a police force." Elthin tried to tell Lucine. He let this settle in before speaking again "They also like to work in secret."

"With that determination, they may just take you up on that offer." The Elder answered. "Not all are too forceful, so we may be having a more 'people friendly' unit come, I do hope."

Elthin explained what he knew of the Inquisition to Lucine,

"So, they're, like, super powerful Magicians?" Lucine asked. "I wouldn't want to meet them alone."

"I'd rather stay away from them but if things get bad. I may have to deal with them which isn't a good thing."

Lucine then spoke up again.

"They are like that yes and you won't meet them alone." Elthin told her. "I would also like to say that we should allow Lucine here to pick her own path in what she wants. While she is learning to be a Magician she may not want to truly follow this path when everything is all. Taken care of I believe she should choose her own path to follow."

He didn't want to force Lucine down a Magician's path but wanted more. Things opened to her so she can pick what she wanted in the future.

"Elder I wish to know if you have seen anything like this before?" Elthin asked. As he placed the mask they had found on his desk.

"I pray that we will not have to protect Lucine from harm when they arrive." The Elder answered.

Elthin explained that he wanted Lucine to choose her own path rather than be forced into becoming a Magician.

"Through Magic, many paths can be opened." The Elder began. "Depending on what specialty she has, she may choose to become a teacher of Magic or something else entirely. Magic is not a straight path to follow, it has many branches, and even branches off those branches."

Now came the talk about the recent findings. Elthin placed the Mask he found at the remains of Lucine's home on the table. The Elder looked at it and simply replied.

"Where did you find this?"

Whatever this mask represented, it was clear that it was not something good.

"We still have some time before they arrive but if things get messy. I may choose to return to Artaria with Lucine but I would like to set things up just in case this ever happens." Elthin told the Elder.

The Elder spoke up again about what path Lucine should choose for herself. He then turned to her "I'd like you to think this over and come up with your own answer is what you'd like to do." Elthin told Lucine.

The Elder then asked where they had found the mask.

"We found it beneath some fallen beams and Lucine's house. From what I can see of the mask, it looks like it belongs to some form or cult. But what would a cult be doing here and why would one want Lucine?" Elthin asked.

Elthin suggested that he could take Lucine back to his homeland if things got out of hand.

"They can take what they please from any force in this world with just a flash of their emblem. Even moving her to someplace as remote and dangerous as the Gott peninsula will not stop them. When they set their sights on something, they do all they can to achieve their goal." The Elder informed Elthin. "They can trace her, regardless of what kind of protections she may have on her. They have the majority of technology from the Lost Generation."

Elthin asked Lucine to consider what path she wanted to take.

"One step at a time." Lucine sighed. "This is all too much to take in. I can't plan my future when I don't even know what'll happen to me two days from now."

Elthin explained about the origins of the mask.

"The Sanguinus Sect." The Elder simply answered. "A cult of Witches who believe that blood holds a Magician's power, and use blood in Alchemical recipes and scrying. Even if they have a drop of her blood, they can know exactly where she is and what she is doing, regardless of how strong the protection we put on her is. They were one of the Cults who attacked this City many years ago, and they are also the one who posed the most trouble. Wounds mean nothing to them, even if they are missing limbs. They continue to fight with savage ferocity, even going as far as drinking their own blood to prevent bleeding out."

"But I don't thing they would really want to do something like that. It would be taken as an act of invasion if they were to enter any other area of the world to do that. While I can understand they would want to further their goals is there anything we can do ahead of time to stop them. Maybe set up some traps or something?" Elthin asked.

Lucine said taking things a step at a time.

"Sorry, I just want what's best for you." Elthin told her.

The Elder spoke up about the mask and named the cult the Sanguinus Sect. Elthin had never heard of the kind of Cult before.

"We have found some blood on some glass which could be theirs. Or a member of Lucine's family we are not sure on that yet." Elthin then asked Lucine to show the Elder the container with the glass shards in them. "Is this Cult still active to this day and do they have any areas around this land where they could be hiding?"

"The Inquisition are outside of any laws present in any continent. The only one who commands them and can direct them is the Archmage Himself. No other ruling body even dares to stand in their way for fear of Exodus." The Elder continued.

The Sanguinus Sect did indeed sound like a formidable enemy.

The idea of finding blood on anything at the remains of a engagement with the Sanguinus Sect did not sit well with anyone.

"Then I fear they may try to strike again." The Elder answered. "If they. too, had something with Lucine's blood on, then we can do nothing to hide her. I beg that they are no longer functioning, and that this was just an act of a Devout zealot because, if they are, indeed, still in full power, then they may attempt to take her again. They were using one of the nearby ruins as a base of operations, but we know nothing more than that. All the Scouts we sent out never returned and, in their stead, came their travel pack and waterskins filled with their blood."

"But there has to be something we can do? and what is this Exodus I don't think I've heard of it before?" Elthin asked.

The Sanguinus Sect would be a formidable foe.

"I wish to request that you send me and Lucine out to these nearby ruins. That would allow us to be out of the city when the Inquisition arrives. Maybe we can find some clues to what the cultists are truly up to. There can also be the chance that maybe they have taken some prisoners hostage. If they have and we can return with one we can learn a whole great deal more about them?" Elthin told the Elder.

He let everything sink in for a while before speaking once more.

"This might sound like a pretty far fetched idea but about standing up. Against the Archmage and Inquisition could we always request aid from the Fae Folk. Or even going as far as to search for the dragons and seek their aid in these matters?" Elthin asked.

"If a city or Continent defies the ruling of the Inquisition, then they are within their own right to brand them as traitors to the Archmage and destroy the city or continent." The Elder explained. "That is this 'Exodus'. They hold the majority of uncovered artifacts from the Lost Generation, and we have seen what they can do with the crater that was the Gott Kingdom."

Elthin requested to scout out the nearby ruins for any trace of the Sanguinus Sect.

"I am afraid I cannot condone any actions which will put young lives at risk. Either option carries its own inherent risk but trying to take on a Cult of Witches is by far the most dangerous one." The Elder answered. "If the entire Military force of the City could barely push them back, I fear that the two of you will be nothing more than carrion food if you try, at that is the kinder alternative."

Elthin continued on his line of ludicrous plans.

"You wish to stand against the entire ruling Council of the Five continents?!" The Elder questioned in disbelief. "The Fey refuse to take part in Human Politics so they will not consider even listening to your request. Their tenants prevent them from directly interacting or influencing any venture outside of Fey Society. We do not even know if the Dragons are returning and, even if we did, I strongly believe that they will answer just the same as the Fey."

Lucine had enough of hearing several potential suicide plans.

"Why don't we just talk to the Inquisitor they send to us?" Lucine suggested. "If we go around acting like everyone wants to kill us then we'd never get anywhere. What harm can just hearing them out do?"

Elthin listened as the Elder explained what 'Exodus' was. "That isn't good we don't need more death and destruction" Elthin finally said. For a moment, he had a dark look in his eyes like he was remembering something happening from long ago. The look finally faded and he heard that the Elder wouldn't let them go to the ruins which would be seen as an act against them.

"If we can't scout out the nearby ruins then what would be the best course of action. That we can take I don't want to start anything bad just want to find clues out?" Elthin asked.

The Elder then questioned his last sort of ludicrous plans.

"No, I don't want that I just wanted to know if we could have gotten some help. But as things are turning out we already have two forces against us the Inquisition and this Cult. Also is there anything we can do to say like be one step ahead. Of them and what about finding allies who could help us out if things go bad?" Elthin asked.

Lucine then spoke up.

"Never thought of trying that this idea can work maybe we can find out something?"

"Indeed we do not." The Elder simply agreed.

Elthin wasn't too supportive of the idea of sitting around and doing nothing while Cults were plying their dark rites.

"We can prepare for another imminent attack or, though this is not a good plan, use a decoy to attract their attention in this City and capture an informant for the Cults and extract information from them." The Elder suggested. "The Decoy plan will have to put young Lucine in danger, so I do not wish for us to do it unless we have no other options, and only with her permission."

Elthin pleaded for another option to help support in this mounting conflict.

"In the way of allies we have the Duchy of Argenta we could request aid from, though that would put us in an even more compromising position with the Mainland, as they were not on the best of terms last Council meeting. The Mainland also has allies within the Church of Quaan, who operate on the Western Continent of Drakmar, and the Church is the worst rival of Argenta as they consider their technological advancements to be Heresy, even more after the Duke's personal Guard at the last Council meeting. However, the Animalia tribes who are a little further north on the Drakmar continent are not on the best of terms with the Church, so we may gain them as allies as well." The Elder explained.

Elthin seemed to support Lucine's plan.

"Talking never hurt anyone, and, who knows, they may send us a nice Inquisitor." Lucine replied.

"Maybe it'd be better to take things slow and prepare ourselves for another attack. I wouldn't want to risk someone else getting hurt. But things would have to be done so in secret as they may have agents within the city who could learn about what we are doing. And while the decoy plan has some merit I don't want to put Lucine here in harms way."

The Elder explained about how they could get some allies.

"We, can try out maybe set up a meeting with both sides first to discuss things. To see how things go and then if they go well we can move forward from there?" Elthin says.

Elthin turned to Lucine.

"Never heard of a nice Inquisitor but who knows."

"It will be unusual to have another attack so soon after the previous one, so I believe we may have some time, unless they are adamant about getting Lucine quickly." The Elder mused. "I believe that we may have more enemies in the city than allies, at present."

Elthin seemed to be in agreement with the idea of allies.

"The Animalia tribe do not with to get involved in conflicts outside of their own struggle, so we may need to convince Argenta to join with us if we wish to get their support. The Duke of Argenta is against needless bloodshed, which is a first for the line of Argentian Dukedom, but we may be able to convince him otherwise, if we portray a convincing argument." The Elder explained. "It may be better to learn more about our potential allies then just jump to request their aid. There is a recording of the last Continental Council meeting in the restricted section of the Library, though I may be able to gain you access to their if you swear that no word of the meeting leaves that room. It it but a short segment of the opening of the meeting, but that should earn you enough information to make a decision."

"Having more enemies than allies is never a good thing. Though I've got a question I'm not pointing him out or anything but do you trust Lord Arundal?" asked Elthin.

He listened to more.

"I will use the Guild Library in my search for information about our allies. I promise that no word shall ever be mentioned on what I heard or even saw in the recording." Elthin thought for some time. "Is there anywhere in the city where someone can get a good view of the surrounding landscape around here?" Elthin asked.

Elthin voiced his suspicions of Lord Arundal.

"Lord Arundal is from a venerable family who have been loyal supporters of the Church of Quaan's views. He bares no respect for the Slum Dwellers and believes that they should be exiled from the City, but he is not one who would dirty his own hands with blood, or do something which may bring dishonor to his family name. In my honest opinion, he was not the mastermind behind the attack on the Slums. After all, he has his own Apprentice now, and would not wish to lose his position in the Guild." The Elder answered.

Elthin wished to view the recording and asked about points in the city which allow a good view.

"Just say to the Librarian that I gave you permission to view the recording and you shall be allowed. They will contact me beforehand, but it will not take more than a few moments." The Elder replied. "The best view of the city comes from the Guild's Bell tower above the main building. You shall be able to access there with no difficulties."

Elthin listened as the Elder spoke of Lord Arundal.

"Would it be okay if I were to keep tabs on him. I don't want to do anything bad or anything just to see for myself is all?" Elthin asked.

The Elder pointed out more things.

"I thank you for all the help you have given us in our meeting today. I see you as an ally but to be on the safe side I'd like matters to be discussed between us secretly. For once the Inquisitor comes things might get hairy and I wouldn't want something bad happening. So unless there is anything else we need to discuss Lucine and I shall be taken our leave?"

Elthin asked if keeping tabs on Lord Arundal would be possible.

"If it is within your power, and if it will not be used invasively, then I cannot condone it, but I also cannot prevent it. Matters among Mentors is for their own discretion." The Elder answered.

Elthin wished for the matters discussed in this meeting to be kept secret.

"Naturally, knowledge is power, in both the Magician's world and in the world as a whole." The Elder agreed. "One final point before you take your leave, you need not fret about Lucine's examination before being accepted as a Student. All of those requests go through myself, and I have my own trusted confidants for these matters. The test shall be carried out with a skilled Physician matching Lucine's true gender, one which she shall feel comfortable with, and the Examination results also reach myself before anyone else. I shall see that her secret is kept safe. She has a bright future ahead of her, and I do not wish to prevent her from knowing it."

Elthin listened as the Elder explained things.

"That is some good news indeed as it's something to look forward to. Lucine does have a bright future ahead of her hopefully in time people's views on Slum Dwellers will chance As everyone has a chance to be something in this world even Magicians." Elthin shook the elders hand and then bid goodbye to him.

The first stop Elthin made with Lucine was walking towards the Guilds Bell tower. "So, what are your thoughts on all that was discussed. I know some of the things might have sounded rather odd and strange to you."

"Maybe someday that dream will be realised." The Elder finished as he gave a parting handshake to Elthin. "I bid you both good tidings in your ventures."

"See you again, soon." Lucine bid her own farewell to the Elder, who nodded a goodbye in response.

Elthin and Lucine left the Elder's office and headed for the Bell tower.

"I didn't know there was so much conflict in the world." Lucine answered, sounding a little down. "I thought my life was hard."

The pair started to walk up the stairs going up to the next level.

"A lot of places in the world have lots of conflicts it's never a good thing. Even my own homeland isn't safe but there are times when areas of the world have peace. Maybe in time, the whole world will come together and conflict can be ended." Elthin told her trying to cheer her up.

They reached the second level and had to walk a short distance to the bell tower. Followed by walking up several more cases of stairs before they arrived on the roof just below. The bell itself Elthin looked out over the city around them.

"I hope things get easier for us soon."

"Maybe so, but that might just be wishful thinking." Lucine replied. "We all have something we want to hurt others for, and we're too stuck on believing that it's the only way to get our point across."

The pair reached the top of the bell tower and Elthin looked over the city.

The entirety of the city's border was surrounded by a large stone wall. The main entrance, and the exits from the four main districts, all had large iron-bound fortress like doors with a drawbridge like mechanism allowing them to be opened only from the inside. Each of the doors had guard-posts at either end on the inside, possibly for opening the doors and alerting of potential invasions. The main entrance had turrets on either side of the gate, with ballistas mounted in the upper opening as a defense line. The only gate which wasn't as heavily fortified as the others was the exit from the Slums, which was actually a rickety rotting wooden shell of a door, with patched up walls around it probably from the full assault from the Cultists a few years ago. That was the obvious weak-point to this city, and the invading forces knew it.

"One doesn't always have to hurt others but must of the time. People do get hurt its sadly a way of life." Elthin says.

He took in the sight before him.

"How would you like to see the outside of the city today. We can walk out the main gate to the north of here?" Elthin pointed out. Pointing to the main entrance of the city.

"Yeah..." Lucine quietly answered.

Elthin then asked if she would like to leave the city. At first, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Soon enough, curiosity overcame her and she answered.

"But, didn't you say I needed to work more on my magic before I could leave? Didn't I need to master that Barrier spell?" Lucine asked.

Lucine seemed confused on what Elthin had said he must not have worded it right.

"I did say those things and we still need to do those. What I meant to say was we'd just exit through the main entrance and look around the area. I'd just be showing you what the outside area is like. Which is this we walk out the gate look at the landscape of the land much as how we are looking out over the city now and then return inside."

Elthin tried to clarify his wording a little better.

"Why should we do that? We'll only be giving the poor guys at the gates a hard time just to take two steps out and head back in." Lucine answered. "I don't see why we should do that when I can see the outside fine from here."

"Just thinking you'd like to see what is outside is all." Elthin said.

As he was still looking out over the city his eyes traveled beyond the gates. Scanning the skies for any sort of flying creature like a dragon which would be a long shot. Yet also looking for any signs of movement coming towards the city.

"If I wanna do that, I wanna do it without being stuck to just two feet outside." Lucine replied.

Elthin then began scanning the skies for any form of avian life. Not much circled the desert apart from a few carrion birds and the odd migratory bird. However, Elthin couldn't really look that far into the distance because of the glare from the sun. On the very distant Horizon, around the direction towards the Agenta Military Blockade, there was a tiny speck of black moving ever so slowly in the direction of the city. It still looked pretty far away but, if it was at visible distance, it wouldn't be long until it arrived at the city gates.

"Hopefully, that will happen soon" Elthin responded.

When he searched the sky he didn't spot much but a tiny speck moving. Closer towards the city he mentioned for Lucine to come over and pointed it out. "I bet that's the airship with the Inquisitor upon it best it ready to meet them soon." They both looked at it for a while before Elthin and Lucine headed back downstairs going over towards the Guild's Library.

Elthin informed Lucine of the speck of movement heading towards the City.

"We've no Airship ports here, so I think that the 'Steel Cavalry' which they were talking about." Lucine answered. "I'd say we've got, at the very least, half a day until they reach hailing distance. After that, they'll practically be here."

Elthin and Lucine headed back down the stairs from the bell tower and began to go to the Guild Library.

"Well, that still gives us plenty of time to come up with some plans ahead of time."

They walked back down the stairs and entered the doors of the Guild's Library. The library looked much like Elthin's but it was far larger many, shelves contained various books. Several tables were set up throughout the room with small lamps set up for being used for reading. A few magicians were sitting down at the tables reading. Elthin spotted the Librarian at their desk in the middle of the room. He walked over to her "I'd like to view the last Continental Council meeting please The Elder has given me permission to view it?" Elthin asked.

Elthin and Lucine entered the Library once more. Elthin then headed over to the Librarian's desk to request for permission to view the Continental Council meeting.

"Please wait while I confirm this." The Librarian answered as he headed over to a Communication Orb behind the desk. After checking over with The Elder about the request, they closed the communication and left the desk. "I don't know why the Elder's given you permission to view such a Sensitive recording like that. I trust you know what's expected of you? We don't want any conflicts arising from loose lips now, do we?"

"My lips are sealed." Lucine confirmed with a nod.

The Librarian led the pair into one of the side rooms of the Library, into a hall which looked remarkably less flamboyant than the rest of the Guild's decor. Inside one of the locked rooms to the sides of the hall was a smaller version of the technological marvel which included the Guild's status updates in the main Library. The door appeared to be locked tightly, with no indication of any handle or keyhole on it at all. The Librarian went over to the door and, after a few taps on the door itself, it slowly began to slide upwards, opening the way to a darkened office-like room with a few chairs around the table with the device on.

"I know what is expected of me and my own lips are sealed" Elthin told her.

They were led into one of the side rooms of the Library and walked into. One of the locked rooms soon enough they entered into it and a office-like room with a few chairs was present. Both the party took their seats at the table with the device on wasn't sure what he was about to see upon the video and hoped it'd be worth it.

When Elthin and Lucine were comfortably seated in the room, and the door was locked behind them, Lucine tried to boot up the device in the center of the room using what little knowledge she had on it from her earlier witnessing. After a few tires in trying to find the right place to press after tapping a few segments of it, the device began to activate to show a scene which appeared to be recorded from one of the overhead recording Crystals in some of the meeting rooms.

The recording opened up onto a scene which looked to take place in the Archmage's own palace. There was an elaborately decorated table, housing the insignia of the Inquisition and the Archmage's own crest as the focal point, with around ten glasses, one in front of each of the ten seats around the table, a few bottles of beverages from the people present, and a few appetizers also. Eight of the ten chairs were currently filled, with the Archmage sitting at the head of the table in the most gaudy chair imaginable, but perfectly suited to the surrounding environment. Seated to the Archmage's left was a female dressed in silver and white Priest Robes with a scaly looking individual of unknown gender sitting next to her. This scaly person looked like an amalgamation between a large lizard and a human, however, they appeared to hold quite a fair amount of intelligence if they were present at such an important meeting. Whether the religious looking person next to them were their translator, or if they were the personal guard of the former, was unknown. After the unlikely pair came a rather big-bodied male wearing a piece of cloth around their head with a large purple jewel in the middle. They appeared to be dressed in desert appropriate gear, thin cloth waistcoat over a simple linen shirt and a set of linen trousers. Lucine could identify this particular person as the Sultan of Port Ralence, also known as a 'Pirate King' and a world renowned slave trader. Next to the Sultan were a pair of empty chairs at present, which were directly opposite the Archmage on the table. Past these chairs were a set of rather tribal looking young girls. There was one with tiger ears poking out from her short blond hair, wearing tiger print chest wrap and a tiger print groin wrap. These wraps looked to be almost real, perhaps they were. Next to this young looking girl was one of equal youth with black puma ears poking out from her long black hair, dressed in a puma version of the previous girl's attire. It was clear, just from the look in the Religious Woman's eyes that she didn't approve of this youthful pair. Rounding up the circular table were two mages from neighboring Guilds. One of them was the Elder from the Brascus Guild and the other was a rather young looking man dressed in black and gold Magician's Robes, who appeared to eye up the other patrons, seemingly sizing up their worth and what value they may hold in this discussion.

There were the usual pre-meeting conversations going on as the meeting members waited for the last two to arrive.

Lucine started up the device after a few tries and the overhead recording Crystals. Started to play the pair watched as the scene opened up into the Archmages palace. This was the first time Elthin had seen the Archmage as he'd only seen pictures of him before. Elthin pointed out to Lucine who the Archmage was by whispering to her. Then saw the female dressed on the Archmages left he didn't know who she was. Next, he saw a large lizard and a large male entered the room. Elthin looked at the Sultan. A few others entered the room he saw a few girls who looked to be like tigers. He spotted the Elder who he just talked with. Elthin was surprised he was a member of the group and last saw the young man in black and gold Magician's Robes. Elthin had seen this man before as he had visited his hometown several times in the past.

There were two more members who had yet to arrive.

After a few rounds of general chatter, the final two members of this gathering entered. One of them was possibly the most drably dressed person present, next to the tribal-clothes clad girls, as he only wore a simple white shirt, black cargo pants and a set of brown steel-toed shoes. His wild dark brown hair wasn't fashioned and organised like the other patrons, and his smudged glasses looked to be on the verge of being replaced. However, his companion was probably the most curious of them all. The man had with him a small girl, who looked a little older than Lucine, dressed in a fine navy-blue, red and gold checked dress. This dress had a hypnotizing pattern on it with small cog-wheels on the shoulders and the waist of the dress, which seemed to rotate and move like cogs should while she moved, but appeared to be still and silent when she didn't. They didn't look like they were actual cogs sewn onto the dress, but rather exquisite patterning which just seemed to evoke the idea of a machine in motion. If knowledge of the Continents were to go by, these two clearly hailed from Argenta. The girl, as expected of someone her age, was clearly nervous of the present meeting, constantly checking to see if her dress was neat and not crumpled, and mostly hiding behind her companion.

As the pair took their seats at the table, with the younger party being closer to the tribal girls than the greasy looking Sultan, the Archmage began the meeting.

"With the arrival of Duke Trent and his...personal guard, we may now begin this Council meeting." The Archmage announced, clearly undermining the idea that such a young girl could be counted as a 'Personal Guard'. The child in question just looked down at the table nervously and tried not to make eye contact with the others.

"I see Argenta are still performing their Heresy." The religious looking woman stated with disgust. "Has your honor dropped so much that you are now claiming children as being 'Worthy foes' for your coming of age?"

"With all due respect, Archbishop Henn, I've personally banned that since becoming Duke." Duke Trent calmly answered. "I just did what I had to to save someone who's become a victim of Terrorism."

The Tiger Girl looked over at the Puma girl. The two of them continued to look at one another until the Puma girl spoke up, in rough Common Tongue.

"All lives are gifts from the Earth Mother, despite what their origins may be. However one chooses to preserve them is up to one's own beliefs. So says Pack Mother Ti." The Puma girl cut in. "It is the way of the Animalia to ensure the Cycle continues, so long as one eventually returns to the Earth, they may do as they wish, as long as they do not shun the Earth Mother's blessing."

Considering that the pair only looked at one another for a few moments, they must have some kind of animal telepathy going on to say that much.

"Heretics supporting Heretics." Archbishop Henn countered. "I am amazed that the Archmage even allowed you a seat on the Council."

"We can save these disputes for later. We have more important matters to discuss." The Archmage interjected. "The Duke's tardiness has already set us back."

The final two members entered into the room. One was a man who had a young girl no older than Lucine with him while the other was the girl seemed to be nervous. And both members took their seats and the meeting began. Elthin learned that one of the members was named Trent and the religous woman clearly seemed to dislike him. Trent gave his answer back and soon another the Puma girl spoke next.

Elthin then learned the pack leader name was Ti and the Archbishops name was Henn. The real meeting was about to begin.

The actual meeting, once it got started, included discussions on the recent discovery that the Miasma surrounding the Gott Kingdom's ruins was beginning to slowly dissipate as strong unseasonal winds were wracking the peninsula. All the members present took a great interest in this discovery, as it may allow for much needed research to be carried out in regards to the fall of the Gott Kingdom. However, at the present rate of ventilation, it may still be a few months, maybe even a year or so, before the miasma dissipates to a level which will allow investigations to be carried out. The scaly looking person just seemed to mostly listen, nodding in appropriate places, unlike the other members, who were more onto debating who has rights to explore there first when the miasma clears. Duke Trent wanted dibs on exploration as it may house important technology from years gone by which could be rediscovered and recreated in today's society. The Archbishop insisted that it may hold information on the Dragons, and that it was their strong belief that a Dragon was the one allowing for the miasma to be cleared. The Sultan didn't have much interest in the situation as he couldn't see much profit being held from it and didn't want to pay for explorers to go in there and, potentially, bring back things worth selling, if there were any. The Animalia representatives didn't have any say in it as they have no holds on the Perriseth continent so, therefore, would have to send a search party halfway across the world to potentially find some trinkets. The Elder also didn't have much of an opinion on the matter, and neither did the other Magician, though the other Magician did seem to be taking quite an interest in the Scaly person and the young girl with the Duke.

The Second point of note was the recent outbreak in Cultist attacks on certain guilds in the Southern Continents, including Perriseth and segments of the Duchy of Argenta. The Girl with the Duke tried to take her attention away from the conversation by looking at the amount of food and drinks on display. The strong smelling alcoholic beverages by the Sultan seemed to send her away to the sweet fruit smelling liquors by the Animalia. The Archbishop merely said that the assaults on the Duchy of Argenta were justice for the years of Heresy they practiced, and that they also wanted a similar uprising to happen in the Animalia Pride Lands. Her personal views were quickly pushed aside by the Archmage again, stating that personal grudges did not belong in a Courtroom. The Duke brushed aside the comments, possibly because he was use to the accusations, and the Animalia just took interest in the Duke's companion, who was trying to figure out what the fruit liquors were. The Black and Gold Magician had no interest in the blathering of a religious zealot and took an interest more in the Elder's recounting of the recent assaults from the Cults against Brascus.

The discussion the pair heard was about the Miasma surrounding the Gott Kingdom. Of how it was dissipating due to unseasonal winds. Elthin himself took great interest in this and started to make mental notes of what was talked about. He wanted to be a part of the team who would go there to study the ruins. But still had a few months to a year before something like that could happen. Each member there wanted to go there for their own reasons and Duke Trent wanted dibs on the exploration. A few other members didn't have much to say on it but Elthin could see that the other Magician was paying close attention to the Scaly person and the young girl with the Duke.

The second note that was talked about was the outbreak. In Cultist attacks which seemed to take place on the Southern Continents, he could see the girl was looking at the amount of food. Elthin wasn't sure why this was maybe the girl was either hungry or thirsty. Even the Animalia people took an interest in the girl. "What is with her?" Elthin whispered to himself as he watched the girl more closely.

The recounting about the attacks from The Elder just raised more questions, as, according to witness reports, both assaults, the one on Brascus and the one on an outlying village in the Duchy, happened near enough simultaneously. It appeared more like a targeted joint attack than just a crazed pointless assault for the sake of one. However, the reasoning behind such attacks had yet to be discovered. The damage reports were far from minimal. Brascus managed to funnel the attack to the Slums and defend the majority of residents there, whereas, the village attacked in the Duchy was razed to the ground with not a single survivor being reported. By now, the Duke's 'personal guard' was hitting the Animalia liquor quite hard. Hopefully, the variant of beverage they bought along to this meeting was not the one with aphrodisiac effects.

Most of the Council members, except the Duke, the Animalia, the Archbishop and her scaly consort were all looking quite shocked at the fact that a minor was clearly drinking an alcoholic beverage, downing it, even, though the idea of the equally youthful looking Animalia doing the same thing didn't quite strike them as odd. The Animalia translator was even pointing out the perfect fruit accompaniments to the drinks the Girl was drinking. They seemed to be bonding quite well.

After the display of underage drinking, the Council continued discussing the next few points, which were quite uninteresting. They were mostly trade pacts propositions and attempts at opening new trade routes across certain uncharted parts of the seas which surround the Continents. During this time, the Duke's little companion was seemingly getting quite bored of all the bartering and began to sway a little on the chair with the momentum of gently kicking her feet underneath the table. Typical children's anti-boredom techniques. She looked up at the crystal on the ceiling, the one recording the events going on, and seemingly silently appraised it, judging what kind of dated technology the Archmage was still using. From this distance, a slight tint of a pale-blue glow could be seen in her cyan coloured eyes. Whether that was just the light's reflection off the crystal, or her eyes, couldn't really be determined from the distance the crystal was at. Even while looking at the crystal, her other anti-boredom plan wasn't halted.

More info on the attacks was spoken of by the elder which raised more questions. It seemed like one of the outlying villages was the target. One such village had been wiped out and the Duke's 'personal guard' was going after the liquor which wouldn't really end well at all. As the girl drank her fill the rest of the members were shocked by it. Elthin was surprised by this and wondered if Lucine did this or had done anything like it before.

The Council went back to talking again and the young girl was growing bored. Soon enough the girl was looking up at the recording crystal and had a pale-blue glow in her eyes. Elthin wasn't sure if it was coming from her or the crystal but kept looking at her.

While the boring trade talks were continuing, the Duke's companion reached up her left hand and pointed her palm at the recording crystal. Something flashed a little before the recording went on the fritz and began to become pixilated, however, around two second after the pixilation hit its worse, the recording returned with an even clearer picture and more crisp sound. She smiled a little at her handiwork and began to return her attention to the talks. The Duke noticed the girl's actions and simply mouthed 'Show off' to her. The rest of the patrons, particularly the Sultan, were all heavily involved in the trade talks. The Duke, the Animalia, The Elder and the Black and Gold Magician didn't seem to want to get involved in the talks, leaving the other end of the table in a heated discussion between one another.

The Duke's Companion turned to him for a moment as the talks were continuing and seemed to be holding some form of conversation with him but, as the crystal was too far away and the noise on the other end of the table too great, the speakers of the crystal couldn't pick up this little discussion. The Duke gave his reply to the girl and patted her on her head with his gloved right hand, ruffling her auburn hair a little, like a older brother would do to their younger sibling. She didn't look too pleased by the answer she got and returned her attention to the table once more.

As Elthin watched the girl she soon rose her left hand and pointed at the crystal. Before something flashed and the recording went on the fritz and messed up. Before the recording came back on much clearer than before. The Duke finally took notice of the girl and spoke up while the rest were too busy talking amongst themselves to have to have noticed what went on. As the talks went on the girl was talking with the duke what was being said couldn't be heard.

But large the duke padded her on the head and she seemed none too pleased. "What is going on between them?" Elthin whispered to Lucine, Maybe she had an answer or something.

Elthin asked Luicne what she thought had been the exchange between the Duke and his 'Guard'.

"Maybe she's just saying how boring these trade talks are. She is, after all, just a kid like me, and I'd be bored out of my brain if I had to endure the wafflings of a bunch of old geezers and their plans for making money." Luicne suggested. "If not that, then...she did just down six cups of liquor. Don't even ask what the results of that would be, perv. Girls like their privacy."

The recording auto-fast fowarded the trade talks as they were for the privacy of the people included in them. If general people knew of trade arrangements, then they could stage an assault on trade shipments and sell the stuff themselves. Throughout the fast-forward, around another hour was added on to the already hour long meeting. During this time, the Girl began to do several different attention dividing techniques, like examining the plants and looking at the architecture, to name a few. She was also very slightly moving around on her seat but, as the recording was moving faster, the movements of her dress's cogs could be recognisable, indicating that she was, indeed, making some quite large movements in whole. The Animalia translator was the first to possibly notice the girl's unease and simply smiled to herself before engaging in Animal-talk (potential telepathy through body language, facial expression and eye movements) with her representative, who just pretty much did the same thing. A few minutes later, the scaly individual lost interest in the trade talks and turned their attention to the rather suddenly animated girl. She quickly stopped moving around upon noticing that she was attracting quite the audience and instead kept her movements strictly below the table.

"Poor girl." Lucine sighed sympathetically. "Stuck between a two problems."

Nearing the end of the hour fast-forward, the recording began to return to normal speed, indicating that, indeed, this girl could do with some private time. As if she was in a lesson at school she quietly raised her hand and waited for someone to notice her predicament, keeping her other hand firmly locked below the table. Eventually, the Archmage noticed the strange gesture from this individual.

"Please explain why you have your arm raised." The Archmage asked the girl.

"W-well, Mister Archmage, sir, we're told to do this at school if we want someone's attention during important talks." The girl answered a little nervously, though very politely, taking her hand down to meet with her other.

"She's always been the model student for the rest of the class." The Duke commented. "She's not one to disturb anything without a really good reason."

"Well then, child, care to explain the reason?"

"U-um, I-I was just wondering if I may be excused for a few moments."

"Excused from what?"

"T-This meeting, Mister Archmage, sir. I'd like to be excused to...um..."

She let out a little whimper as if to accentuate her need. The Animalia representative handed her a little berry-like fruit while the translator explained something to the girl through whispering. The girl ate the offered berry in one bite and she seemed to be able to recollect herself a little more.

"I-I'd like to be allowed to...er...go to the bathroom?" She quietly added on the end.

"What a pointless waste of time." The Archbishop cut in. "Stopping a meeting for a child's own lack of self control."

"Actually, she's tried hard to make it this far." The Duke countered. "Granted, if she didn't drink all that liquor she probably would have made it until we call it for the first break. As I said before, she's not one to stop something important for no valid reason."

"Let her go, she has no need to listen to these adult conversations." The Sultan commented in a heavily accented common tongue, even worse than Lucine's.

"Children will be children, after all." The Elder added in with a nod. The other Magician just shrugged, having no comment on this.

Debates were held between the Duke and the Archbishop, leaving the poor girl to endure for a little longer until the Animalia translator cut in quite forcibly.

"If we continue to debate this, we are further wasting time. I suggest that we call the first break here, considering how heated our heads are getting. We need time to cool off." The Translator instructed, breaking the ruling for translators, which the Archbishop did not fail to reprimand.

"Your master hasn't given you the order to talk, so stay out of this, mongrel!" The Archbishop shot back. "A good pet knows when to heed its master's commands."

Before a full on Animalia brawl was about to break out, the Archmage decided to go along with the Animalia's suggestion.

"While she may have broken the law of translators in Council meetings, she does have a point. We are only wasting more time. We shall adjourn this meeting here and allow for the first break to happen." The Archmage ordered.

"Thank you very much, Mister Archmage, sir." The girl gleefully replied before racing off out of the meeting room.

The recording came to an end with the first part of the meeting being concluded.

Lucine gave her view on what was going on between the duke and the girl. "Don't call me a prev, there's just something about her that seems off and it's not that."

He went back to watching the recording and is fast-forwarded and the girl. Began to change looking at various parts of the room and the cogs on her dress. Began to move faster as she was doing these things some of the other members took notice of her. Lucine seemed to pick up on what was going on with the girl and took Elthin a while to notice himself. Soon the girl stopped moving around since she had a lot of people looking at her. As the meeting was nearing its end the girl soon rose her hand and the Archmage noticed her.

There was the small talk between them and the duke spoke up.

There was more small talk and soon things turned heated before the archmage called. For a break and the recording ended Elthin sat there for a few moments in silence. He wanted to know more about this girl and the stuff she had done earlier. He also wanted to meet The Duke in person for more reasons. But to gain access to meeting with both The Duke and the girl would only cause questions asked. He could always request travel to Argenta to just visit the city and take Lucine along with him.

But that would also take a time to do there was one way he could get. Access to travel there much faster but did he really want to do that to announce that he was a member of the royal court of Glacialis just to travel somewhere he didn't want to do that either.

As the recording came to an end, Lucine only had one thing to say.

"That Religious woman was a bitch." Lucine exclaimed, not caring about the language she was using. "The poor girl could have embarrassed herself so much because of her."

After pushing herself up from her seat, Lucine had a little more to say.

"I wanna meet those animal girls, and that cog-girl. They seemed kind of nice." Lucine commented. "Didn't think I'd see the geezer from this Guild there. Guess he must be quite important, huh?"

Elthin was still thinking on things when Lucine spoke up.

"O-Oh, yeah some of those types are like that." Elthin finally said. He got up too and they both left the room and headed out of the Guild Library.

Lucine then wanted to meet the animal girls and the cog-girl. Before mentioning that the elder much be quite important.

"If you truly would like to meet them we could always request travel to Argrenta?" Elthin told her. He thought about the elder for a while. "He must be alright." They left the Guild and started to head towards the travel guild.

Elthin suggested that they request travel to Argenta to meet with at least one of the people Lucine took a liking to.

"On foot, if we walk from sunrise to sunset, it'll take a week, give or take a day or two. If we take horses that'll cut the time down by a few days. Our best choice would be stealing that thing the Inquisitor is coming on. Ever ridden one before?" Lucine explained to Elthin as they headed towards the Traveller's Guild.

"That'd take to long and in this heat wouldn't be wise."

Lucine mentioned about stealing the ship the Inquisitor was coming in.

"True, but should we really steal it? I've never ridden one before" Elthin pointed out. As they arrived at the Traveller's Guild and walked inside.

Elthin said that he had never ridden in a military grade vehicle before.

"Good, that makes two of us, then. I guess we could wing it and hope for the best. How hard can it be? Probably the Inquisition lot are as equally as clueless about Argenta stuff, so they probably forced some poor goon to drive them around." Lucine suggested as the pair entered the Traveller's Guild.

"I'm sure it'd be really hard the only way I can think of would be to sneak on it. Or try some other underhanded methods. But if they find out it was us then the entire Inquisition would be after us?" Elthin said.

When they entered into the Traveller's Guild it was a large opened roomed building. With various maps of the world upon the walls. Several members of the Guild were busy talking with town's folk who were planning trips to other parts of the continent and both Elthin and Lucine walked to a line and waited to be seen.

"It's not even their property in the first place. They more than likely forced Argenta to supply one for their trip." Lucine answered. "If we took it, we'd probably be doing them a favour."

The Traveller's Guild was as busy as normal, with Nobles planning grandiose trips across the Continents. Lucine and Elthin took their place in line and waited to be called upon.

"So, how does this whole travel lark work anyway?" Lucine asked. "Do we just say where we want to go and they give us a pass, or something?"

"Maybe but how would we fly the thing I'm sure neither of us knows how to do that?" Elthin said.

As they both waited in line Elthin thought over what he was going to say. To the Guild members as Lucine spoke up again.

"We, request where we'd like to go and fill out some paperwork. We also need travel papers to come with us so we can. Show at the border between nations wouldn't want to enter a country without those since it'd cause nothing but trouble." After waiting a while longer. Both Elthin and Lucine were called upon.

They walked up to a young twenty something or other female with green hair and yellow eyes. She seemed to rather busy today. "How, can I help you two today?" she asked.

"I'd like to request travel to Argenta please?" Elthin asked.

"Why, would you like to travel to Argenta sir?" the female asked.

"I'd like to see the sites and show my younger brother here around the town.." Elthin said before adding. "I'd also like to visit family there as well as Lady Yasmir Veldhar lives there." Elthin sighed he didn't really want to visit his older sister. As he'd then have to deal with even more hardships which wouldn't be good on him.

At the mention of the Veldhar name the females, eyes went wide. As that was the current ruling families name in Glacialis. Was Elthin a member of the royal family?

Elthin explained how getting travel passes worked while the pair waited in line.

"So we need permission to cross borders then? That sounds complicated." Lucine answered.

The pair were soon called upon and Elthin went about bargaining to get passes for travel. He said something about a female with the same House name as him, but Lucine didn't seem to show interest in that point. If they were visiting his family, it didn't really bother her that much just as long as she got to go there.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want to cause problems" Elthin explained.

Elthin and the female talked a little more about traveling to Argentia. This took a few minutes longer than normal as Elthin had to fill out some paperwork. It was also known to him that'd it'd take a few days time to get the documents needed completed since. The Guild was super busy during this time of year. So, in the end, Elthin and Lucine would need to head back here in three days. They then bed farewell and left the Traveller's Guild.

"Were heading home"

Elthin spent a good while discussing things with the Guild representative to get permission to cross borders. During this time, Lucine was mostly looking at the globes on display in the room and the maps of the Continents and their archipelagos. She was, naturally, acting like a bored child in a store, trying everything she can to keep her occupied. Thankfully, all the administration was done and they were told to return in three days, when all the processing was done.

"Good, 'cause I kinda need to fill the pot, if you get me." Lucine answered, blushing slightly. "Sitting through long meetings and lines does that."

"You could have asked to use the bathroom?" Elthin whispered.

Once outside they made a beeline for Elthin's home making small talk. Along the way during this time Elthin was looking around the town making sure. They weren't being followed by anyone and keeping an eye on Lucine.

"Well, yeah, but, remember? I'm meant to be a boy and I can't exactly mark trees like them as I lack the hose needed." Lucine elaborated, still looking quite embarrassed. "Also, how am I meant to waltz into a boy's Can and do my business in that grotty place? I'd rather hold it for as long as needed than use those places."

Elthin kept watch for any suspicious activity while Lucine contended with her own current problems. Through some of the streets, Elthin could just pick out the movement of a rather quick figure very briefly before it disappeared behind the street stalls and the odd occasional Camel wandering around. There was also slight glints of light from some angles but what caused them was unclear, as there was a lot of shiny trinkets out around the town which could easily reflect light. If they were, indeed, being followed, it was by someone, or something, which knows what they're doing.

"I know that but, something going to have to be done. Wouldn't want you to have an accident like last night." Elthin whispered.

As Elthin looked around the streets he caught sight of a quick figure. For a second before they dashed off again. He wondered on this person and saw all the lights from the trinkets on display. He kept looking around for a while longer before they reached his home.

Elthin proposed a not so outrageous alternative to this predicament and why Lucine should promptly take care of such needs. A yelp of surprise followed by some stammering was all that left Lucine's lips after a stifled 'how did you-'.

"NO! I'd never ever ever ever do that kind of thing! I'm a big girl, not a baby! I'd never do that. Never ever!" Lucine quickly blurted out as her blush deepened. "Never ever ever! Got it?! NEVER!"

Despite the adamant protests, there was just something about the look in Lucine's eyes that betrayed her mouth. She looked embarrassed, ashamed, angry but, most of all, upset at the accusation.

On the rest of the way home, the potential stalkers managed to elude Elthin's gaze, only briefly flashing into a corner-of-the-eye view before disappearing into nothingness. How long they were being stalked for was a mystery, much like their pursuers.

"Okay, okay just make sure to take care of that thing ahead of time" Elthin said. He could see that Lucine was embarrassed and didn't press the matter further. He did see the person from before appearing in and out of his line of sight. He took this in as them being stalked and before the door of his home. He turned around to completely face any stalkers.

"Show yourself?" Elthin called out.

After the little 'lover's spat' between the pair, Elthin had enough of their potential stalker and demanded for them to show themselves. However, unlike what would normally happen, nobody came into view, not even a chicken wandering around, like what was normal when the City was quiet.

"What're you stalling for?" Lucine asked, sounding a little impatient. "Do you want me to wash your porch, or something?"

No one came into view when Elthin called them out. Lucine then spoke up once more "Someone is following us" he then turned around and let Lucine inside to take care of her needs. Elthin however remained outside his home. Whoever was following them would be hardpressed on trying to enter inside. Since the barrier around his home was activated as soon as Lucine walked inside.

Elthin informed Lucine of the delay. She just let out a small laugh about it.

"Heh, I'm ever so popular now, aren't I?" Lucine commented with sarcasm.

Elthin then let Lucine in to take care of her pressing desire for a prithee. She didn't waste any time heading in and was down the hallway quite quickly. Elthin, however, remained outside to continue to scan for any pursuers. Like before, nothing happened. Whether it was just a trick of the light earlier or if, indeed, these tailers are skilled in their trade, was still undecided.

While still outside Elthin sent a cold wind blowing across the open ground. It was nothing more than a harmless breeze but he wanted to make sure if anyone was there. As he was sure someone was out there spying on him.

After Elthin sent out the cold breeze, some form of response came in the sound of a startled yelp at the chill. It started off normal volume, but quickly dimmed down to a muffled sound near instantly. There was, definitely, someone out there. Judging by the pitch of the yelp, they were probably a young female.

Elthin shout the door to his home and locked the door. He then heard the startled yelp which sounded female. Looking around Elthin went in the direction of where the yelp came from looking for any signs of the female person who had caused it. Just to make sure he sent another blast of cold wind again in every direction.

Elthin began to head towards the source of the sound, sending another blast of cold wind that way. No noise came this time, however, when he reached a little more than ten feet away from the source, a girl in a Midnight Blue traveller's cape, with a large hood covering the majority of her face and only showing the lower half, quickly stepped out from behind her cover of a merchant's wagon. In one swift barely perceptible movement, she quickly threw down two small cylinders of metal. Once they hit the ground, one exploded out on a flash of blinding light and the other let out a loud hissing sound, like mist escaping from a sealed container. Once the light dissipated, all that was left was a large ten feet in diameter cloud of thick white smoke, covering any traces of where the potential spy might have gone.

The second blast of cold wind didn't get a sound heard. He did, however, see a girl in a Midnight Blue traveler's cape, Who came out of her hiding spot behind a wagon a moment later she drew two small cylinders and threw them down to the ground. The first one blinded Elthin who wasn't expecting that he covered her eyes as the second one struck the ground. As he regained his sight he saw that thick white smoke covered the area. Not letting him see where the spy escaped to he walked forward into the smoke and moved forward hoping the girl went in the direction he was running in.

Elthin decided to continue to pursue the potential spy, turning this little game of cat and mouse on its head. Traversing the smoke cloud wasn't easy, but it didn't cause any breathing problems due to the Shield. The composition of the smoke, as Elthin could just make out on the inside of it, was mostly just cold water mixed with a very tiny amount of Liquid Nitrogen, not enough to freeze anything warm, but enough to create smoke in the air. Overall, it was just a harmless mix of chemicals which could easily be thrown together by an Alchemist worth a quarter of their name.

After passing the smoke cloud, the tail of a Midnight Blue cape just flapped around a corner a little further down the street. They'd covered a lot of ground in such a short space of time, so, potentially, they'd be a little slower due to exertion happening a little too soon.

The smoke that Elthin had traveled through was pretty annoying. The cold water that was mixed with the Liquid Nitrogen didn't bother Elthin all that much. As he left the smoke cloud he caught the tail end of the Midnight Blue cape girl. As she moved around a corner Elthin jogged after her hoping to catch up. As he then turned the corner she had moved down he cast a spell creating a small slippery patch of ice upon the ground in the area in front of her or was trying to.

The escapee was a good deal along the alleyway before Elthin reached it. When he did so, he attempted to slow her down by making the floor difficult terrain to travel across. At first, she stumbled a little before regaining her footing, however, she then began to vault between the walls, kicking off one and onto the other while pushing herself forward down the alleyway, her escape was made marginally slower by this exercise, but she was still quite fast and dexterous for someone who looked so young. She also seemed to have unnatural stamina for someone of her build, which allowed her to move at such a pace without stopping for breath. Either she was fatiguing, but good at hiding it, or she didn't feel the least bit tired.

His trap didn't have the effects he had wanted at first the girl stumbled a bit. Before regaining her footing and vault between the walls her escape was growing slower. As was Elthin's own trying to catch her he was growing tired from running after her. He soon stopped in his tracks and decided on on final gambit. Thrusting out both hands Elthin began to chant a much larger spell she was trying to create giant walls of ice which would block the girl into a box. But completing the spell would take time and did Elthin have enough time to complete it.

Elthin tried one final last-ditch effort in catching this elusive free-runner. It didn't seem that he'd have time to finish it, however, due to the ice already on the ground, a simple redirection of the solidity of it was all that was needed, creating a large wall of solid ice in front of the girl. She bashed into the wall, focusing more on her footing than where she was going, and fell to the ground on her rear. Still trying to collect herself from the surprise barrier that had appeared, she just sat there rubbing away at her sore rump, while also analyzing for another escape strategy.

At first, Elthin feared the girl would escape him as his spell took the time to finish. That was before the girl crashed head-on into the wall and falling to the ground. Not wanting to lose her in the time he was given Elthin started to run forward again trying close the distance between the pair of them. As he slowly moved forward he called out to her,

"Who are you and why were you following me?"

Elthin had caught the cat in its own trap and was soon closing in on her, asking her to identify herself and give her reasons for the actions she was committing. The girl tried to make a move, seemingly looking like she was about to punch the wall of ice down, before simply curling up into a ball and spouting some Lucine-like comments.

"Please don't violate my young body, you wicked, wicked man! I'm too young to become a used item!" The girl answered back, sounding quite scared. She spoke with an accent that wasn't from around these parts. It sounded ever so familiar to the accent of the Duke in the recording, except a little less well-spoken and more run-of-the-mill. "I've yet to develop so it won't be that fun, unless you like unripe fruit, you class-A pervert!"

Elthin caught up with the girl who was about to punch his ice wall down. Before she curled up into a ball and spoke like Lucine does sometimes.

"I'm not going to do anything too you." Elthin told her. He caught the accent from the girl knowing she wasn't from these parts. "I said stop it with that, and what is your business with me?" Elthin asked.

Elthin, once more, was plastered with the 'Sexual Deviant' label. However, his actions did kind of summarise what a Sexual deviant would do. He insisted that he was not going to deflower such a young bud, and reiterated his previous question. However, the girl was still fixated on the former.

"Don't come any closer! I-I know self defence! I have a whistle! I can scream real loud!" The girl continued to blather on.

Elthin remained what he was as the girl spoke up again.

"You can get up you know," Elthin told her.

This wasn't getting him anywhere so he held up his hands in a surrendering motion. "What will it take for you to not be afraid of me?"

Elthin, once more, insisted that he was not going to violate a budding flower in any way, shape or form. He then began to show surrender by staying a fair distance away and keeping his hands visible.

"So, you're not gonna make me your pleasure toy?" The girl asked, sounding a little more relaxed, but still a little defensive. "I want you to identify yourself first and tell me why you cornered me like this. It's rude to ask a lady for her name without giving your own."

Sure enough the girl seemed to calm down a little more, but was still clearly wary. She got up from her crouched position and turned towards Elthin. At this distance, it was noticeable that she was just a little bit bigger than Lucine, but that could be down to the raised heel midnight blue shoes she was wearing. She then began to pull the hood of her cloak down, revealing a head of black illustriously soft looking hair, and then looking up at Elthin, staring into his eyes with her cyan coloured eyes. They seemed to house an evident lighter blue glow to them, unnaturally so. She certainly looked familiar. Wait, those eyes could only belong to one person which looked like that...

..Elthin was, undoubtedly. in the presence of Duke Trent's personal guard. The young girl from the meeting.

"Well, aren't you going to introduce yourself, Master Veldhar?" The girl asked, indicating she knew a little about Elthin already.

"I'm not going to do that so stop with that already?" Elthin told her. The girl then wanted him to identify himself and tell her why he had cornered her. Soon enough the girl had calmed down some and got up turning to Elthin. She then pulled her hood down and Elthin saw that the girl was the same girl from the meeting he'd watched. What she was doing here was a mystery to him and for a moment, Elthin was surprised. When the girl seemed to know just who Elthin was when she mentioned his last name.

The surprise faded soon enough.

"So, you know about me? my name is Elthin Veldhar" Elthin said. He didn't know how much the girl knew about him. He wasn't about to mention that he was a part of Glacialis' Palace Honor Guard. So he kept that hidden from her. "As for why I cornered you that was because I thought you were spying on me as I sensed someone was," Elthin explained to the girl. Next, Elthin decided to try and surprise the girl some.

"Now, why not tell me your name as I'd like to know why the personal guard to Duke Trent has business with me?"

The mysterious Argentian Royal smirked a little when Elthin fully introduced himself and explained his reasoning behind stalking her into a alleyway and trapping her there. The girl's hands were, apparently, folded behind her back, hidden among the folds of her slightly open Midnight Blue Traveller's cloak. Through the slight opening, it was apparent that she was wearing an equally coloured steampunk-esque goth-loli like dress, with a slightly puffed out skirt and lots of intricate patterning, including a large cog-wheel shaped belt buckle around her waist. The outfit was complete with mid-calf high fashionable boots, which actually looked quite hard wearing as well.

"I know enough about you. You're a long way from home, totting a young girl to boot as well. Are you positive you're not a deviant?" The girl asked, going on the defensive once more by covering her chest with her arms. "Are you eloping? Engaging in a forbidden relationship with a girl from the Slums?! That'd make an AWESOME love comic!"

After the slight strange defensive movements, the Girl now had her arms folded behind her back once more.

"As for me, I'm nothing more than a simple girl on an errand for a family member." She answered, both evading and answering the question. "However, considering you believe you've got me at your mercy..."

In one swift movement, the girl drew forth another small steel canister from under her cloak and threw it down, creating yet another cloud of smoke. However, this smoke felt, and tasted, more like flour than the previous bomb she'd used. In the chaos of the fogging, the sound of Ice shattering echoed through the enclosed space as the signature thud of a kick preceded it. Once the smoke cleared, the girl was already on one of the rooftops doing what could only be likened to a Hero pose from a children's book. She let out a clearly childish evil laugh before nearly falling over after leaning back a little to far to gloat. Once she'd regained her footing, she shouted down to Elthin.

"You nearly had me there, Elthin of House Veldhar! However, no evil villain can stop the Heroine of Justice, Azure Princess Z!" The self-proclaimed 'Heroine of Justice' posed once more before laughing again. "So long as there's evil in the world threatening the lives of innocents, the Heroine of Justice shall continue to fight! Know this, Elthin of House Veldhar, you are now my arch-nemesis! None can escape the Hand of Justice!" After posing once more, 'Azure Princess Z' threw something down, which clinked against the floor a few feet away from Elthin. "We shall meet again, arch-nemesis!"

Azure Princess Z then took off, jumping from rooftop to rooftop.

Elthin stayed on his guard just in case the girl before she tried anything. He still didn't fully trust her having just met her a moment ago. The girl still seemed to know a lot about him which he'd like to know how much she knew. "What does it matter what I do?" Elthin asked. The girl then dodged his question before sending out another cylinder of smoke. Elthin was blinded for a few moments before he could see her again.

"She's a weird one alright," Elthin said after he listened to her speech and dash away. Walking over he picked up the thing she had threw down a few feet. From him taking a few moments he scanned it over and then headed for home.

Elthin, once the strange 'Heroine of Justice' had fled the scene, went over to see what she'd thrown down to him. The actual object landed a few inches away from the metal canister which had expelled the smoke. It looked to be a small cogwheel shaped bit of blue metal. Perhaps it was this girl's 'calling card', like most children's heroes have? Strangely, next the canister was also a small scrap of paper which appeared to have a list of some sort written on it. Passing up a good piece of evidence would be rather bad, so Elthin took this as well before heading back home.

His spell he'd cast was now shattered and returned from where it came from. As Elthin looked over the small cogwheel he saw the small scrap of paper. Trying to read what was on it made it to be some sort of list. When he reached his home he opened the door and walked inside the stuff he'd taken was in his pocket. Walking into the kitchen he sat down at the table and placed the stuff upon it.

Before getting back up and going to find Lucine.

Once Elthin got back home, he placed the strange trinkets from the meeting with the hyper girl in Blue on the table before going to find Lucine, who was actually the one to find him. She'd changed back into her female clothes, possibly because they were more comfortable and natural to her,

"You sure took your time." Lucine commented as she went over to Elthin and began to sniff the air around him. "And you smell of another girl! Are you two-timing me, mister?!"

Lucine's questionable behaviour sure hadn't been stopped.

In his search for Lucine it appeared she had found him instead. "I had a rather interesting meeting with Duke Trent's personal guard" Elthin told Lucine. He then led her into the kitchen where he showed her the strange trinkets he had gotten from Z.

"I'm not two-timing or anything of the sort but the girl is here for a reason" Elthin says. Before he told Lucine fully what had happened between him and Z.

Elthin explained why he was late turning up.

"Did that little vixen try to seduce you?" She asked, continuing along the line of 'Angry partner'. "I thought I was the only girl for you."

Elthin tried to defend himself once more before showing the things he'd picked up from his encounter with the 'Heroine of Justice'. Lucine ignored the cogwheel and looked straight at the list before starting to giggle a little.

"So much for 'Heroine of Justice'." Lucine snickered. "She's got a list of ingredients for a home remedy to help with potty training overnight! Little girl must still miss the pot until morning and wake up all sodden!"

"Just what is with you anyway are you jealous or something?" Elthin asked.

Lucine ignored the cogwheel and looked at the list and explained what it was about. "Then it's too bad for her then" He then sat down once more.

"Jealous? O-oh, no. No way am I jealous!." Lucine quickly shot back, sounding a little too unconvincing.

Elthin just shrugged aside the noting on the scrap of paper.

"Perfect..." Lucine mischievously chuckled as she pocketed the scrap. "Ammunition, get!"

Lucine then decided to question how a single girl could outwit, outmaneuver and outrun a trained Magician.

"So, how did this little bedwetter manage to escape you? Surely you can't be beaten by a lone girl who can't even keep her own body in check overnight?"

Lucine did appear jealous.

"You are jealous, now why is that?" Elthin asked.

Lucine pocketed the paper and then asked how the girl escaped him.

"She was using some cylinders of smoke and other things. She's also well trained for someone her age I'd know since I've done similar training back home."

"I-I'm not jealous at all!" Lucine insisted, still sounding slightly unconvincing.

Elthin explained how a young girl could outwit him. Lucine appeared to be very interested, and also confused, at the idea of using canisters of smoke.

"So she can control the weather?" Lucine asked, sounding very interested. "Just what kind of Magician is she?! Not even the old guy at the Guild can make mist appear from nowhere."

The ideas of 'smoke bombs' and 'flash bombs' seems to float right over this poor backwater girl's head.

"Enough" Elthin demanded ending the talk there with that.

"She can't control the weather, I believe what she was using was made some how. I know it sounds rather confusing" Elthin says.

He left the room for a moment and returned with a small book. "A newbies guild to Learning Magic" 'This book here should explain somethings about that. I'll help you learn to read the book right now if you'd like?"

The jealousy talk was ended quite abruptly.

Elthin then went on to explain that Azure Princess was just using some kind of invention to produce the smoke, but this didn't clear anything up for Lucine at all. He then went off to retrieve 'The Origins of Magic for Budding Magicians', which was basically a child's guide to learning Magic. He offered to read it for Lucine.

"I'll give it a go." Lucine simply shrugged as she took a seat next to Elthin and moved her chair close enough so she could see the pages as well. The proximity between the two was now quite close.

The pair were now sitting side by side. Elthin opened up the book to the first page and started to read to it to Lucine slowly. Making sure to stop at places so that everything she heard would sink into her mind. When she was confused over something Elthin reread it again before trying to explain what it meant.

The first few pages of the book were the basic introduction to Magic for beginners. It covered what magic was about, the four main elements of magic being fire, water, earth and air. Along with a few different types of magic such as offense and defense based spells. During the time spent reading Elthin tried to help Lucine learn to read he took this slowly. Not wanting to overwhelm the girl too quickly he started with the first sentence on the very first page. Rereading it several times and trying to get Lucine to sound out the word so she could say it.

During the reading session, Elthin allowed Lucine to try out a few sentences on her own. As expected of someone who was still learning to read, she stumbled on them quite a few times before getting some words down, albeit with the wrong pronunciation. Eventually, her side position for reading became a little problematic when the pages were moving on, so she pushed herself closer and closer to the centre of the book to try and make it so she could easily see both pages. This, ultimately, placed her pretty much side to side with Elthin.

As the reading went on, Lucine's ability to pick up basic words and phrases became more pronounced and she was quickly learning the art of reading, but she was still far from knowing enough to fully call herself a competent reader.

Elthin helped out Lucine anyway that he could. He could still see that she had a harder time learning and stumbled a few times. Yet with how slow Elthin was going was a good thing he wasn't about to go faster at all. Soon enough Lucine placed herself closer towards Elthin who had placed the book flat upon the table. As the reading went on Lucine seemed to be able to pick up words and phrases. But she still had a long why to go so they worked on reading for a little while longer before Elthin decided to stop for a late lunch.

By the time Lunch rolled around, Lucine was able to read some of the simpler, shorter, sentences mostly by herself, only needing help on a few more confusingly ambiguous words. She was a fast learner, but even at her speed it'll take a good while before she's at the level she'd be expected to be at upon starting at the Guild. While Elthin's tutoring was effective, it still seemed like Lucine was not reaching her full potential.

Elthin did understand that Lucine was a fast learner much like. How she had done with magic practice earlier that day yet there was something that. Was holding Lucine back from fully learning more as to what that was he couldn't say.

"Anything you want to do for the rest of the day?" Elthin asked.

As he was busy preparing lunch for the two of them.

While Elthin was preparing lunch for the both of them, Lucine was silently practicing her reading still. Her reading was momentarily put on hold when Elthin asked a question.

"I'd like some more Girl's clothes, if that's okay. I mean underwear and things like that, as I really only have one set of panties." Lucine requested, "I'll do all the awkward picking of clothes this time, all you need to do is pay. Also, I wouldn't want you picking out my delicate clothes, because then you could do all kinds of things to me in your mind."

"That's okay, I wouldn't want you going out on your own anyway." Elthin tells her. He had made them some salad and ham sandwichs he placed them on the table. "I'm not going to do anything with you like that unless you secretly want me to"

Elthin accepted the request, bringing a small smile to Lucine's face. Lunch was then served up.

"If I'm just too adorable for you to resit, then there's nothing I can do about it. Your beastly side may just come out and try to eat me whole. Or, you may want me to eat you..." Lucine mischievously answered. "Oh, the shame!"

Elthin blushed at Lucine's act of wanting to have her eat him. "What about me eating you?" Elthin countered. He sat down and started to eat his lunch he stopped for a moment after eating some and before Lucine starting eating he leaned over and kissed her on the lips. Which was out of character for himself then pulled back and went on eating again.

Elthin countered Lucine's questionable taunt with one of his own.

"I may be unripe and still growing, but the sweetest fruits are always the budding ones." Lucine retaliated, sounding excessively innocent. "Do you want to eat my cherry?"

Just before Lucine began to start on her food, Elthin, strangely kissed her directly on the lips. She dropped her fork onto her plate with a loud clattering before sitting there, mouth agape, as her face went a deep shade of crimson. She tried to make words, but all that came out of her mouth were unintelligible squeaks.

Elthin didn't say anything else he was crimson himself as just went on eating. He wasn't sure as to why he'd done what he did maybe as a way to get back at Lucine for her. Games she's always playing on him or he did it for other reasons. He got up and went to go get some milk to drink trying to clear his mind.

After being locked in a daze for a few moments, Lucine's mind finally processed everything that happened. However, instead of her usual backbiting retaliations, she just silently looked down at her plate and started eating.

Elthin then ate some more and finally finished eating he got up. Placing his dishes into the sink before leaving the room for a while to make things easier on them both,

Elthin was the first to finish and, after doing so, promptly left the room, leaving Lucine alone. The lack of proximity between the two made it slightly easier for Lucine, but she was still reeling from the unexpected action.

Elthin gave time for Lucine to finish up with her meal as he got the money needed. For later out of the a secret vault he had in his home later he went back into the kitchen to check on Lucine. "Do you still need more time or can we go shopping?"

By the time Elthin got back to the Kitchen, Lucine had finished her food as well.

"Oh, e-erm, we can go now." Lucine responded, sounding still out of sorts a little.

It was then time for them to go they both left Elthin's home and headed for the Noble's shopping distract. There wasn't much conversation between the pair as Elthin really didn't have much to say after some time walking they arrived there.

Unlike the last outing, Lucine headed out of the house still in her female attire. However, as she looked far more Noble-esque, she didn't attract any attention from the minuscule amount of people braving the arrival of the Inquisition. One curious pair of eyes, from a Humanoid like person near the Apothecary, was the only one evidently interested in the change of partner Elthin had on him at the time. Small black panther ears popped up from the Humanoid's head as the pair passed by. It was strange to find an Animalia in a big city like this, especially one who looked so familiar.

Elthin had been thinking about what had happened between them. He didn't seem to notice the Humanoid that was looking at them he as he passed by them without. So much as a glance the thoughts in his mind soon left him and he returned to normal.

Oblivious to the curious onlooker, Elthin continued on the way to the tailor to pick up some more clothes for Lucine. Lucine's silence was the only accompaniment to the sound of both of their steps. What happened must have shocked her so much that she's still processing it.

The pair arrived at the tailor and Lucine was the first to head in, losing herself among the rows of neatly hung clothing.

Elthin followed Lucine inside the tailor's shop and followed behind her. Letting her look through the various rows of clothes to see just what she would pick out. That is if her mind was still on that sort of thing.

Elthin decided to supervise Lucine's shopping, making sure she was getting all she needed without costing too much. To begin with, Lucine was looking amongst the 'Adult' lingerie, picking up various string-like excuses for underwear, until the Clerk intervened and informed her that those particular articles of clothing are not for Young Ladies. With a deep blush, she hurriedly placed them back onto the rails as she was lead to the Children's section. It didn't appear that her reasoning behind choosing the restricted stringy underwear was due to her crude sense of humour, but rather due to her current addled state.

Lucine looked through the rows of cute clothing on display and picked out matching sets of silky smooth underwear, ensuring that she had at least one set of underwear for each of the weekdays. While the written word may not be her strong point, she appeared to have a good understanding of basic addition and numeracy. Each of the sets she picked also matched the varying outfits Elthin had purchased the day before, but with lighter colours, like purples and deep blues. Eventually she'd shopped herself out and returned to Elthin with her arms full of clothing.

Elthin followed behind Lucine silently using this time to study what sort. Of clothes she would pick out for herself and also keeping an eye out for Z if she had decided to show herself again. Soon enough Lucine returned to Elthin her arms filled with clothes. They walked up to the tailor and Elthin paid for everything that Lucine had picked out and they then left the store.

After the clothing was paid for, Lucine offered to carry the baggage as, after all, they were her clothes. On the way back to the house, Elthin decided to keep a close watch to see if the strange self-proclaimed 'Heroine of Justice' would show herself. All seemed silent, until a sudden exclamation cut through the open square.

"There you are, Villain!"

The source of the noise was a young girl clad in a deep blue traveller's robe. It was, indeed, the Heroine of Justice herself, Azure Princess Z.

"Give it back, thief!" The angry pint-sized Heroine ordered as she approached Elthin, completely oblivious of Lucine.

Just like before Elthin heard the same voice again as Z appeared once again. "So you show yourself once more" Elthin sighed. He leaned over towards Lucine. "The girl from before is here the one I told you about."

Elthin turned to look at Z.

"Whatever do you mean?" Elthin asked playing the confused person.

Elthin informed Lucine that the angry little girl approaching them was the girl from before. Suddenly, Lucine seemed to snap out of her addled state.

"You mean the little harlot who tried to take you away?" Lucine questioned, sounding a mixture of angry and smug. "If she tries anything, I'll stop her."

Elthin tried to pull the confused card on Azure Princess Z.

"You know what I mean! My thing! You stole it from me!" The riled up petite Heroine countered. "You took it from me when you knocked me down with your poles!"

Lucine seemed to respond to him when he mentioned the girl. "Yes that is the one" Elthin whispered.

Z still spoke of Elthin taking her stuff.

"I still have no idea what you're talking about is why not tell me what it is?"

"Poles?" Lucine asked Elthin, sounding like anger was rising inside of her. "You told me you did nothing to this girl? Are you lying to me, Mister?!"

Elthin now had two troublesome children accusing him of things he did not commit.

"I dropped something very important when you thrust your pole onto me. A girl can't reveal all her secrets, especially to no good Villains like yourself." Azure Princess Z countered. Her face was turning a light shade of pink as she explained herself more.

"Walls of Ice I had created through magic to trap her" Elthin told Lucine. "I did nothing to this young girl okay!"

He looked to Z.

"Oh, so you dropped something that wouldn't happen to have been a list. About ingredients for a home remedy in potty training would it?" Elthin asked.

"Oh, really?" Lucine asked, sounding unconvinced.

Elthin used his Ace to silence the accusatory girl. The expected result came as the angry girl gasped in shock as silence fell between the pair. Tears appeared to be welling up in the corners of her eyes as she whimpered in stunned silence.

"So you read it?" Azure Princess Z quietly announced, mostly to herself. The floodgates opened as tears began to stream down her face as she crumpled to the floor and began to sob quite loudly.

"Poor baby still wakes up wet." Lucine mocked. "What a joke for a Heroine of Justice!"

"Believe what you want to" Elthin told her.

Z gasped in shock when Elthin used his ace and then started to cry.

"I didn't have to read it" Elthin said.

He looked down at her feeling a tad sorry for her but that was all. So decided for a brief moment to have fun with the girl he cast a small ice spell that blew a freezing wind between her legs.

In the depths of her sorrow, Azure Princess Z didn't notice the spell Elthin had cast on her as she continued to bawl. Lucine kept up her mocking of her potential opponent.

"What are you, four?!" Lucine laughed. "How do you expect to fight crime if you can't even keep your own piss in control?!"

Azure Princess Z's crying just got more intense as Lucine kept up her barrage of insults. The small amount of people who were in the surrounding area, and even some of the shopkeepers, all turned their attention to Elthin with distasteful glares.

A crowd was starting to gather around them and this wasn't something Elthin wanted. Walking over he picked up Z in his arms and walked with her towards his home in a hurry. Not wanting the people watching to see this anymore. He opened the House with Lucine behind him clearly mad that Elthin had picked the girl up. He took Z into the basement training room of his home and set her on the ground.

In a desperate bid to reduce the amount of disapproving onlooker, Elthin grabbed the distraught girl and carried her back to his home.

"Hey, wait a minute! Wot the hell are y'doin'?!" Lucine exclaimed, slipping back into slum Dialect. "Bring tha' girl right back 'ere this instant!"

Lucine then bolted off after Elthin, angered by his actions, while also feeling quite prideful that her judgement was correct in Elthin's personality. The crowd of onlookers watched in a mixture of shock and confusion as Elthin abducted a crying girl and legged it back to his house. This will certainly get around quickly...

Back in Elthin's basement, he placed the girl, whom was now crying even louder, on the floor.

Elthin ignored Lucine at first.

The girl was still crying in his basement this time louder.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Elthin snapped at the girl.

Elthin snapped at the crying girl, trying to order her to shut up. However, the anger only made her cry more. Consoling this bawling wreck will take time and effort.

"What...you...me...take...inity...!" The girl bawled incomprehensibly.

The girl just kept on crying more.

"To get you away from that crowd of onlookers" this wasn't getting him anywhere. Lucine was also her in the basement he turned to her.

"You deal with her," Elthin told her.

"Finally got ya!" Lucine exclaimed as she came barging into the basement. "Why ya nick 'er from tha' square? Wanna git ya rocks off'on 'er or somethin'?!"

Lucine, with the addition of the hard to translate Slum Dialect, was making about as much sense as the bawling baby on the floor.

"Such a noisy pair." A strangely familiar young exotic sounding female voice echoed through the basement. "One is in need of consoling, and the other is as hard to understand as a rampaging boar."

From the shadows behind the still open door to the basement, a young Panther-skin clad girl appeared. She had black hair, black panther ears and a black panther tail. It appeared to be the translator for the Animalia from the Council meeting. Just what was such a high-profile Animalia doing in such a place?

"Care to explain whether you wish to fornicate with the Young Miss, or do you have other instinct driven ideals?" The Animalia questioned. "Of course, it is inexcusable what you've done. This may be counted as a personal attack on the Duke, if he wasn't such a carefree individual. However, you will still need to explain your reasoning to him, as he sees the Young Miss as somewhat of a pack member."

The Animalia began to make her way over to the crying wreck on the floor. She knelt down next to her and began to hug her closely while stroking her head.

Elthin needed to calm down as this was all getting out of hand. Lucine spoke to the girl and then they heard an unfamiliar voice speak to them.

"How, did you enter here?" Elthin asked.

He had turned to face the sound of the voice to see. A young panther-skin clad girl step out of the shadows. "I took her here to get away from that damned crowd of people nothing is going to happen to her. Take her away if you want as this is all out of hand" Elthin sighed once more.

Upon the addition of another intruder, Elthin began to give up on trying to calm the girl down and, instead, questioned the newest addition to this rag-tag band of people.

"A simple barrier spell is easily tricked." The Animalia explained. "We've been trained in the jungles of Drakmar. A makeshift attempt at a blockade set up by a tail-less Stone Jungle inhabitant is easily passed."

After the Animalia began to show some form of motherly affection to the distraught prisoner, she seemed to be calming down somewhat as she buried her face in the skins covering the young Animalia's smooth chest. Elthin began to explain his reasoning to the Animalia.

"Why not attempt to quieten her down in the Square? Or is your image too much of a hindrance to your caring side?" The Animalia challenged. "I do not intend to move her until the Duke arrives. I cannot have a kidnapper roaming free in the company of a Young Witch. Did you drag that poor girl with you back to your house in the same manner, or was her abduction more carefully planned out?"

The Animalia girl explained things.

"Ah, Drakmar been a long while since I last visited there. Too bad I was never able to study in the Magician's Guild there as I was called back home. For other important matters that need not be discussed here."

"Because there was already too much of this problem already going on. I didn't kidnap her only moved here to get away from those people. As for her it was nothing of the sort she was injured and needed help. So I took here so that I could treat her wounds nothing more than that."

"You mean those misguided fools who deface the Earth Mother's gifts?" The Animalia questioned. "They destroyed our lands with their Stone Dens and their constant cutting down of our Dens."

Elthin tried once more to explain that he was only trying to move the girl away from the onlookers.

"So your image, indeed, hindered your kindness. Tailless ones have lost the nurturing instinct of the Earth Mother." The Animalia sighed. "Could you not have taken her to the Witch Doctor's hut? Would that not have made a wiser choice? Are you trained in salve-making?"

The crying Azure Princess finally started to calm down some more, reducing her once frantic tears down to small sniffles and sobs.

"Yes, those misguided fools if I ever had the chance I would have gladly studied under your kind, While they may have destroyed your lands that has nothing to do with me. As I was never a part of that at all."

"I could have, and it would have been a wiser choice but there are certain matters. Which we are facing together at the moment that need to be taken care of. As for salve-making I've got a little training in that yes. But enough about me what about you how come you are in this city?" Elthin asked.

The Animalia smiled and chuckled slightly at Elthin's remark of studying under their kind.

"The Animalia do not accept tailless ones into their Pride Lands. However, some of the more adventurous ones tend to head out in mating season to try and conceive a Male Animalia." The Animala answered. "None have been successful, but the spot of Alpha Male is still waiting to be filled by the first Male Animalia since our race began."

Elthin tried to avoid answering too much about Lucine, but it seemed like Animalia were not easily tricked.

"I know she is a Witch. I can sense the Earth Mother's blessing inside of her. She bears, not one, but two gifts. However, she has only discovered one of them. With time, she will find the other and, eventually, fulfil her role in the weaved threads left for her in the grand tapestry of the Earth Mother." The Animalia informed Elthin, leading to quite a shocked look from Lucine.

Elthin questioned why an Animalia would be so far from the pack.

"I am nothing more than a simple Shaman. You tailless ones call them 'Physicians', if I am correct. I serve under the Guild's ruling, but my allegiances lie with my Clan and another. I am merely plying my trade, attempting to earn a living in this Stone Jungle, where hunting for food is impossible." The Animalia explained. "You tailless ones have named me 'Freya', but my true name is not so."

"Then that's all nice for you as I'm sure the mating season is all fun and dandy. But I have no desire to be your Alpha Male if you even try that on me."

The Animalia spoke about Lucine.

"Who is the Earth Mother that you speak of and what is this second gift?" Elthin asked. He looked over at Lucine for a mere moment then back at the girl. "Care to tell me what her role is?" Elthin asked once more.

She spoke further.

"Ah, I see than 'Freya' why not tell me about this Z girl here. She has clearly taken an interest in me after having followed me around yesterday and is Z even her name or something else?"

"You misunderstand, tailless one. The Alpha Male has to be conceived and born as a Male Animalia. A tailless one like yourself will never be given the honor of leading the Animalia Clans." Freya explained. "The Male used in the conception will be treated like an Animalia and given a place in the Pride Lands, but will never be in charge of any Clan."

Elthin asked about the Earth Mother.

"The Earth Mother is the land itself. She provides sustenance, shelter, cures and life for us. She exists in every one of her children, leading them down their threads in the weaving of the Grand Tapestry. She is in every grain of sand, every blade of grass and every droplet of water." Freya informed Elthin.

Elthin questioned what gifts Lucine has and what her role is.

"That is not my place to say. I am not a Farseer or Earthspeaker. I cannot fathom to understand the Earth Mother's willing for another. I am but a simple Shaman, a caretaker for my Clan. Healing the sick and curing the wounded are what the Earth Mother has chosen for me, and that is the thread I shall continue to weave." Freya answered.

Elthin then asked about 'Azure Princess Z'.

"The Child you speak of is the Duke of Argenta's personal guard. She is a...complicated child. I am not at liberty to talk of her without the Duke's permission. I am merely her Guardian while she is in this Stone Jungle, and not her home of the Steel Jungle." Freya replied. "This name she has given herself is one of her own choosing. Her actual name is Zena."

"No I understand what you had said before I was just stating my thoughts on the matter nothing more," Elthin explained.

Freya explained about the Earth Mother.

"Is she an apart of me to or just a select number of people?" Elthin asked.

Freya spoke of Lucine.

"If I wished to speak with a Farseer of Earthspeaker about Lucine here. Who would be the one that I speak to the head of your clan or entire race?"

Freya explained about Z.

"So, her name is Zena then she is a complicated one. Anyway, I still don't know why Zena here has taken an interest in me all I know is she wants to play games. With heroes and villains and sees me as some sort of villain here."

Elthin asked more about the Earth Mother.

"As I said before, she is inside everything in this World. She has breathed life in each of us and placed a seed of herself inside us to keep us alive. Any living creature has the Earth Mother inside them. Any natural material or Element also has the Earth Mother inside of it. The only things she does not grace are the steel things your tailless ones create." Freya reiterated.

Elthin requested an audience with the Farseer or Earthspeaker.

"Tailless ones are not allowed inside the Pride Lands, and both the Farseer and Earthspeaker reside in them. They do not rule the Clans, but they do advise the Pack Mother with their visions and predictions. If you can earn the favour of the Pack Mother, then she may request that you are allowed to see them." Freya informed Elthin. "However, the Animalia do not take kindly to tailless ones, so you may not be able to earn her favour so easily."

Elthin asked more about Zena. Particularly about her hobby with Heroines of Justice and Villains.

"That, again, should be explained by the Duke. All I can say on the matter is that it is her way of forming bonds with people. She cannot openly express herself, so she relies on trickery and different names to do so." Freya answered.

"Then I guess I'll never be able to seek out the questions I would ask them. Seeing as how know of us Tailless ones that you speak of are allowed into your lands. How would I earn favour with the Pack Mother?" Elthin asked.

Freya spoke more on Zena.

"I wouldn't call that forming a bond with me. Both her and this girl here see me as nothing more than a villian" Elthin sighed.

"Earning her favour is own to her own requests. I cannot speak for the Pack Mother, and to do so would be like declaring myself as the Pack Mother, and that is normally met with a trial by Combat." Freya explained. "You may, at the borders of the Pride Lands, request to speak with the Pack Mother, and, if she heeds your request, she will come and see you."

Elthin wasn't sure how calling someone a villain and stalking them would be considering 'bonding'.

"Each child of the Earth Mother is different. While some may seek to court their potential mates through shows of strength, others may choose displays of cunning. Nature's diversity is what truly brings us the Earth Mother's blessing. If we were all the same, then we will never progress." Freya answered.

"Hey, I don't call you a villain! You're a perv, they're two totally different things! Pervs are pervs, and villains are villains." Lucine retorted. "All this talk of this bawling sleep-pissing baby is really getting on my nerves."

"Don't call me that..." Zena quietly retaliated. "...I don't do it on purpose,,,"

"Why so quick to brand another, when you, yourself, are, as you so eloquently put it, also a 'sleep-pissing baby'." Freya countered, causing Lucine to falter.

"I-I am NOT!"

"Then why do you still hold the list Zena dropped?"

Freya spoke once more.

"How interesting does she normally take requests or does she decide on which one she takes?" Elthin asked.

Elthin learned more.

"Nice ways of trying things out can a Mate be chosen from other methods. Rather than just those two?"

Lucine and Zera argued with one another.

"You, both call me a prev and Zera here calls me a villain. I don't like being called either as its annoying." Elthin laughed when Freya pointed out that Lucine herself had wet the bed earlier which he had already known about. "She has her reasons for still holding onto that."

"The Pack Mother chooses who she wishes to speak to. The messengers give a brief description of who is requesting her presence, and for what reasons they may be doing so." Freya answered.

Elthin asked about courting potential mates.

"Each creature has their own way of doing so. Some birds, like the peacock, choose to flaunt their plumes. This may be known as a display of Charisma, as only the best plumage gains the attention of a Mate. Rabbits decide to box one another as a show of how well they could defend their Mate, Octopi simply remove their insemination organs and thrown them to whom they wish to impregnate. Each creature is unique, not all ways of mating or courting are known." Freya explained. "Do you have someone in mind you wish to court, with a question like that?"

Elthin managed to get his revenge on Lucine in a way only he knew about. Due to Freya's curt explanation, Lucine had no counter to Elthin's statement. Now, instead of only having Zena be the butt of jokes, she'd also got some revenge of her own.

"Really, I only rarely do it. If you need it more than me then, by all means, ask Freya to whip it up for you." Zena countered.

"I do not piss the bed!" Lucine exclaimed, her voice cracking a little.

"You have a poor way of disguising your feelings, child." Freya interjected in response to Lucine's breaking voice and deep crimson face. "I have enough materials to make several draughts of it, so both of you can get what you need."

"Can we please stop with all this talk of fighting amongst the two of you?" Elthin asked.

He was growing tired of their arguing with one another.

"I have no one at present,regards" Elthin regards to Freya's own question.

"Then keep that in mind for when you do." Freya replied with a slight smile. "Your luck may come sooner than expected. You are not much older in Summers compared to your young Charge. She may bloom into quite the rose."

Elthin wanted the arguing to stop between the bickering children, but they seemed fixated in their own argument to even catch what Elthin had said. However, the slightly faltering of the magical barrier around the House certainly caused them to keep quiet for a moment. Lucine, even with her lacking Magical Aptitude, did catch the fluctuation in the elemental powers binding the barrier together. Freya simply nodded her head slightly at Zena.

"Big Bro?" Zena asked Freya, just above a whisper.

"What a noisy place." A recognisable male voice sounded from the hallways as the sound of steel-toed construction boots clunked against the flooring. Soon enough, a rather shabbily dressed mountain of a man stepped through the doorway to the basement, ducking a bit to avoid the top of the door. He looked easily to be 6 and a half feet tall, which possibly required him to duck to pass through the 6ft tall door. When he came into full view, it was instantly noticeable that this was, indeed, the Duke of Argenta, albeit a little oil smeared and soot stained. He turned to regard the only other adult in the room and, with a slight adjustment of his glasses, asked the problematic question. "So, what are three beautiful flowers doing in a dark, dank, basement of a single man's home?"

"Big bro!" Zena gleefully exclaimed as she ran to dive onto the tall man and hug him.

"You seem to be alright." He chuckled a little as he crouched down to hug the smaller girl.

"Good to see you, Duke." Freya greeted him with a slight curtsy as she stood up.

"This guy's a Duke?!" Lucine questioned in surprise.

At the thought of Lucine being someone that Elthin might go for later. Was met with just silence since he had nothing to say on that matter. Plus his request for the bickering between Lucine and Zena went unanswered. After a while Elthin noticed that the faltering of the magical barrier around his house meant someone was trying to enter into it and had just done so.

"He's here" Elthin whispered.

He turned to the sound of the male voice who had arrived. Elthin took several moments to study the Duke he seemed like any other normal man. Yet he could be hiding something under that or others in fact.

"We, meet sooner than expected Duke of Argenta I apologize for taking Zena here against. Her will and causing any sort of trouble that I did." Elthin tells the Duke.

Elthin first greeted the Duke by hastily explaining his case.

"Is that how you normally get people's attention? Kidnapping young girls until they come to rescue them? You're just like those villains in the books Zena reads." Duke Trent chuckled a little as he picked Zena up and held her like a father would with their child.

"These guys are bullying me." Zena cut in with indications to Elthin and Lucine. She sounded more childish now than in her Superheroine guise.

"Before we make accusations of bullying, we must get their side of the story, remember?" Duke Trent reminded Zena.

Freya also headed over to the Duke, giving Elthin a slight wink on the way. Lucine was still trying to figure out how a man who looked as dirty as Duke Trent could be anyone of high standing.

"Anyway, I heard you wanted to speak to me. Well, here I am." Duke Trent finished in regards to Elthin. "Please, if you could, explain how Argenta works to the fly trap in the corner. If her jaw was any lower, she'll become a mole." Duke Trent indicated Lucine with a look and a nod.

"No, one normally doesn't but there were other problems. I'm sure Zena here has already told you about me" Elthin told Trent.

Elthin saw the wink that Freya had given him and looked away embarrassed. He then looked back at Duke Trent after Zena spoke with him.

Duke Trent wished to know things. So Elthin explained matters as best her could by telling the Duke of how he had come into contact with Lucine, of how he had taken her under his wing as a student. Basically he told him everything hoping to make things easier for the Duke to understand.

"I'm sure you have some questions as to the things I just told you"

"I'm...aware of most of what happened. That's why I'm not blowing up in your face about taking hostages." Duke Trent simply answered. "All I got was the panic signal and a little clip of what went on. From that, I've decided that it was mildly reasonable for you to run off with a minor."

Elthin explained everything of what went on the past day and a half. Duke Trent nodded when required and seemed to understand most of what went on.

"That would explain why the Inquisition wanted to commandeer one of my transports. She's a high priority target, it seems, if the Inquisition want to get their hands on her." Duke Trent explained. "I'd steer clear of explaining too much to them when they come. From the look of the Inquisitor in charge, they're not a violent unit. The commander seems to keep them mostly in check but, in retrospect, also seems to be at their mercy as well. I can't really tell from just the quick fifteen minute bartering that went on."

Duke Trent nodded at parts to what Elthin had told him about Lucine.

"We had thought of going to Agrenta to meet with you before all this had happened. Since I have family there it would have been much easier. As for explaining things too them I;ll just give them a small version as to what's been going on. I'd rather not have to deal with them too much since it can lead to further problems."

"If you go to Argenta, they'll just come back and still hunt you down to talk to you. They're like a bad copper." Duke Trent answered.

"They're scary and mean and bullies." Zena interjected.

"It seems like they still fear the Animalia, as they've yet to even try to set foot on our lands." Freya added in. "But, as I've already said, we don't take refugees or visitors."

Lucine decided that her silence was long overdue to be broken.

"Just wait a minute!" Lucine cut in. "Just what has this gotta do with me?! I'm just a normal Slummer who's got some weird crazy burning power that I know nothing about, and now, suddenly some over-hyped Law Enforcement bunch are now trying to hunt me! Just what the hell is all of this?! Why the hell am I so important?!"

"I've already had a talk about this with The Elder, I've also thought of taking her home with me to Artaria but they would just follow us there as well. Those in Artaria don't really care much for the Inquisition. If things do turn bad we might have to go to Drakmar and ask for help from the Animalia." Elthin said.

"While I know you don't take either of those can I make a request to the Pack Mother?" Elthin asked Freya.

Lucine spoke up about matters.

"That we don't know about, while I'm not sure why the Inquisition is after you. It might have to do with this power inside of you. As there is something about it that makes you so important. All I can say about this is there are my questions that we still don't have the answers to. Freya's people have people who can help us out with the answers we need. But we would need to make the request for aid."

Elthin explained his intentions of avoiding unnecessary Inquisitional contact.

"Best to just face them head on and hope they don't demand too much." Duke Trent answered. "With any luck, they may just want to check if she's Adept material or not. Worst case scenario is that they've come to kill her for being a Witch, though that would be like coal calling soot black, as their commander was also a Witch, kind of."

"Only if you successfully bore one of the Animalia a male offspring would you be allowed in our Pride Lands. Not even the Pack Mother would allow an outsider tailless one to live in the Pride Lands." Freya explained. "We prefer to keep our lands clean from the corruption of tailless ones."

Elthin's explanation for Lucine's outburst did not really provide the answers she needs.

"But why me?!" Lucine insisted. "Why have I been cursed with things I don't even want? Why can't I just be normal again?"

Duke Trent explained his thoughts on the matter and Freya then spoke up.

"I don't want to force Lucine into anything that may cause her harm. We have agreed to meet with them nothing more to see for ourselves of what they want. If it ever comes down to that I'll protect her with my life she doesn't deserve that at all. Freya you're tell me if I wish to live in your lands I'd need to bore a male offspring that's way more than I needed to know" Elthin says.

Lucine asked more questions.

"I don't know and I can't tell you why you've been cursed. Maybe it isn't a curse and more of a blessing maybe those who gave you these powers. Wish for you to do good with them to lead the world in a better direction"

Elthin gave his answers to the statements from the others.

"Force her or not, the Inquisition won't give up until they've talked to her." Duke Trent answered. "They're more persistent than rust on metal."

"That is the way of the Animalia." Freya simply replied with a sly smile. "The option is there, and I may be a willing suitor if you wish to take up on it."

"Freya, don't talk like that in front of the kids." Duke Trent sighed.

"It's not my fault, mating season is close, after all."

"What's 'Mating Season'?" Zena asked.

"Something you'll learn when you're older." Duke Trent quickly cut in before Freya could explain the ins and outs of connecting bodies in an intimate way.

"Well, they could've given me a choice in it all." Lucine finished.

Duke Trent spoke more as did Freya.

"I don't think I want to go that route just yet" Elthin tells Freya when he sees her sly smile. He looked back over at Lucine.

"Its up to you on what sort of action you take"

Elthin decline the route of courtship.

"I'd rather just go back to my old life, not like that's every gonna happen." Lucine answered, sounding quite annoyed.

Lucine still seemed annoyed.

"I'm sorry but that isn't going to be happening. Your life has changed for better or worse its up to you on what you do with it." Elthin said.

Elthin instructed Lucine to make the most of the cards dealt to her. She didn't look pleased with that confirmation, but said no more on the topic.

"So, did you only want to see me to ask those questions, or is there more you want? I'm quite a busy person." Duke Trent informed Elthin. "It'd be a pretty boring conversation if that's all you wanted to talk about."

Lucine spoke no more and Duke Trent spoke up.

"No, these are not all I had planned on asking. There is indeed more I'd like to know for starters just what is Zena here. I know she is human from the looks of things. But I have recently seen her do somethings which seems to add more questions?"

Elthin questioned about Zena and just what she is. Duke Trent seemed unwilling to answer and simply posed a question instead.

"How much do you know of Argenta?" Duke Trent asked. "Also, what are your views on our past heritage?"

"It's rude to ask about a girl's secrets." Zena intruded, sounding very angry.

"Getting straight to the point, are you?" Freya smiled. "I like it when people are direct,"

Elthin ignored Freya and Zena as Duke Trent spoke again.

"I know of what I've researched I know that Argenta is well known for its technological production of various marvels. Such as the steel ships and other such things, I also know that your country has had some hardships. Such as being called heretics for dark things that you guys have done in the past. Such as what used to be done when one wanted to become 'Duke'" Elthin explained.

He spoke up again after thinking some.

"As for your past heritage, I'm not one to question the ways of someone's country. I only ask why were these things done I'm sure the people doing them had their motives. But my question is what does one gain in doing those things what was the purpose?"

Elthin explained his knowledge on Ancient Argentan customs.

"You're well read, I must say." Duke Trent said approvingly. "The main reason behind the old coming of age tradition was kind of along the lines of age-old fear inducing tactics. Some ancient rulers placed the heads of their enemies on spikes outside of their palaces to deter people from rising against them for fear of meeting the same grisly end. This tradition was along those lines."

Duke Trent then elaborated a little more on the tradition.

"I can understand why it was done, but I don't approve of it at all. Enslaving someone against their will, whether ally or enemy, is just disgusting. They didn't choose to stand against Argenta. They were probably forced by their bloodthirsty commanders to do so. They are not the ones to blame and they should not be punished for doing so."

Duke Trent then asked another question. One which would probably determine Elthin's allegiance.

"What are your thoughts on the Church of Scales?" Duke Trent asked. "Do you agree with their teachings, or disagree with them, or, maybe, are you indifferent?"

"I like to research things its a hobby of mine," Elthin said. As he then listened to the rest of what Duke Trent had to say.

"Yet still, while every country has their own traditions I still find it odd. That people would do such a thing in my travels across the world I have seen. Weird traditions but have never witnessed something like this before. I can only say that I am glad that you've changed matters for the better" Elthin told him.

Duke Trent asked for his thoughts on the Church of Scales.

"I'm sorry to say I'm not much into religion while people have their own opinions on them. I can only say that I would neither agree or disagree with their teachings." Elthin explained. He wasn't really much into religion nor really studied it.

Elthin was pleased by the sudden change in tradition in Argenta.

"If it wasn't for this little pest, I wouldn't have gathered enough of a backing to overthrow that tradition." Duke Trent answered as he placed Zena back on the floor and patted her on the shoulder. "She didn't directly help matters, but she did have a big impact on the general populace's opinion on the tradition."

Elthin answered that he wasn't a religious person and didn't really care much for the teaching of Pastors or Archbishops. Duke Trent seemed to understand the direction behind it, but he still wasn't going to give away the information that easily.

"Even if you aren't religious, some things are best kept unknown. Until I know that you're not about to Crusade against Argenta if you hear something mildly Heretical, I can't exactly tell you about Zena." Duke Trent explained. "While I don't accuse you of being a bloodthirsty monster, I still have to think of Zena's safety, and knowing about her could put that in jeopardy."

"If it's not to much of a problem can I learn what sort of big impact she had on the populace?" Elthin asked.

Duke Trent still seemed uncertain about Elthin.

"I would do nothing of the sort I'm not one of those people. Who just after hearing something would want to Crusade and rid the world of whatever that is." Elthin stated. Duke Trent was still thinking of Zena's safety which Elthin could understand.

"Its up to you whenever you decide to let me learn more about her. Perhaps I can do something for you in exchange for that information. Call it a trade if you will as we would both be getting something out of this deal?"

Elthin asked what impact Zena had on the votes to abolish the slave-like tradition.

"She helped them understand just what sort of effect doing something like it may have on those not involved directly. Each war has its own costs, not only for the losing side. Every life lost in war is one which may have people depending on them for survival. They realised that it was a brutish way of using such an advancement in technology, which allows someone who may be dying a second chance at life" Elthin explained.

Elthin proposed a trade of information. This piqued the Duke's interest.

"What kind of information are you willing to trade?" Duke Trent asked.

Duke Trent told Elthin what he wished to know.

"That does indeed sound like a better way to take things. It also allows loved ones to stay around longer than possible." Elthin seemed to think what was stated by Duke Trent like a nice idea.

The Duke was interested in Elthin's idea.

"Something of equal value which is only fair. I'm sure there are something that you may or may not know about. If I know what it is that you may be looking for or know information about said thing. I'll be willing to trade it but like I said if its something you're looking for it will take some time to gather the needed information. Is there anything that you currently wish to know more of or are wanting to find out about?' Elthin asked.

Elthin suggested any one topic the Duke was interested in as an information exchange.

"I've always wanted to know what kind of secrets the ruins in this area have in relation to the Lost Generation. I've heard that a Cult is occupying one of those particular ruins and that there's been talk of a Dragon roaming the desert. I'd like for, if you managed to infiltrate those ruins, you to share some of what you find in there with me. I've heard that the Lost Generation had some pretty amazing technology. The cut I'm thinking of is 60/40. 60% of the findings for yourself, and 40% for Argenta." proposed. "If you find anything out on the Dragon rumour, then that can help work the deal in your favour more, if we can, perhaps, get a sample of Alchemical reagents from the Dragon to trade with the Animalia. Of course, I don't want you to take them if the Dragon's not willing."

The Duke picked the topic he wished to know more about.

"I've heard from The Elder that The Sanguinus Sect maybe hiding in the ruins. When I had asked him to send me and Lucine there he was against the idea." Elthin pointed out. He wasn't against the idea of not trying to gather the information he was just stating what the elder had mentioned. "I believe this would be a fair trade I only ask that you allow Lucine a few days to prepare for this event. As I don't wish to enter the ruins unprepared, and if I can find anything out on this Dragon rumour I'll be sure to let you know first hand."

Elthin was in agreement with the proposed trade.

"If you don't want to go into the ruins and risk a lot, you could just try to squash the Dragon rumour. However, if it is indeed a real Dragon, the reagents will pay for the information traded. The Animalia pay a good deal for Dragon Reagents, and so do general Alchemists, as Dragons are not commonly seen." Duke Trent agreed. "There's no set deadline, but you won't get anything about Zena until you keep up your end of the bargain."

"I'd like to go to the ruins" Elthin stated. As he had been wanting to go to them since arriving in this area. "I believe I'll do the Dragon rumor first and at a later time move onto the ruins. Is there any place we can meet to exchange information for information. As it would be rather weird to have the masses outside seeing the Duke of Argenta coming to a Noble's home?" Elthin asked.

Elthin, despite the warning, still seemed adamant about going to the ruins.

"If you're that fixated on them, then I guess I can't stop you." Duke Trent answered with a smile. "As for a meeting place, how does the Guild sound? I got here through the Guild Portal in Argenta. Only people with permission can use the Portals, but I can come through if you give me some advance warning."

Duke Trent then seemed to discuss something with Freya. He was speaking too quietly for Elthin or Lucine to pick up on at present. Once the discussion was over, he then turned back to Elthin.

"Freya's got some messengers with Portal Permission, so go and see her at her Apothecary if you get anything."

Duke Trent then mentioned on the Guild being the meeting place. That they could all meet up at later by using the Guild Portal. Elthin had heard of these before but had never seen one before. "That sounds like a good place for us to meet at. Is it also okay if I share any of the information I find with The Elder to we can trust him as he's a well-versed man? And has helped me out some already?" Elthin asked.

Duke Trent then went to Freya and began to speak. Quietly with her during this time Elthin moved over to Lucine. "Are you okay with all of this?" Elthin asked quietly to her. Wishing to know what Lucine was thinking about at present about everything that was being discussed. "You also have a say in matters as well I don't want you thinking that we are all doing this without your say so," Elthin added.

He moved away from Lucine and walked over to Zena and knelt down beside her. He then gave her a pat on the head and leaned closer to her. "She's jealous of you" Elthin whispered to Zena before moving away from her and regaining Lucine.

"I'll make sure to do so, is there anything else you wish to discuss before we end this meeting?" Elthin asked.

Elthin was in agreement with the idea of the Guild being the meeting place and also requested if the Guild's Elder could be a recipient of the information as well.

"He seems like a nice guy, so, just as long as you don't say too much about everything, you can pass the info to him as well." Duke Trent answered.

Elthin then asked Lucine if she was in agreement with the idea.

"I don't know. I don't exactly trust them. That kid's clearly not all normal. She's got something about her that is just so strange, and the way they act to one another is also quite fishy. She was all ego a few minutes ago and then suddenly turned to a blubbering baby." Lucine commented. "I'm not one to foolishly hunt my own death but, if it gets us some nice stuff, then I guess the price is right."

Elthin then went over to Zena and suggested that Lucine was jealous of her. Zena puffed out her chest in pride and confidently stated:

"She just wishes she could be as cool as me. But, I guess she's still just a kid, after all, and that's expected of kids."

Before the meeting was drawn to a close, Elthin asked if there was anything more which needed to be discussed.

"One more thing: You said that Lucine's house got burned down and you found something at the scene of the arson. A golden mask, was it? I'd like to see the mask, if that's possible." Duke Trent requested.

It was agreed that The Elder could still be trusted. Then Lucine spoke up on her thoughts on matters.

"She is a strange one alright maybe when we learn more about her. It will help clear up matters and questions about her?" Elthin tells her. Having then remembered what Zena had told him about Lucine he said nothing back about it.

Duke Trent then wanted to see the mask they had found.

"Yes we had found the mask under some rubble here as you can see." Elthin left the room for a moment and then returned. With the mask in hand and handed it over to Duke Trent "is there anything else special about this mask that we don't already know about?"

Elthin bought the mask back for Duke Trent to look at. Duke Trent carefully looked over the mask, examining every little detail the mask had about it.

"Base of solidified clay painted with Gold-Dust paint and sprinkled with melted glass. The blood trail from the eyes have a strangely metallic look to it. It doesn't seem to be any form of paint I recognise." Duke Trent appraised. "Clay of this quality is hard to come by in the Desert, so it must have either been imported from overseas or mined from Argenta. The craftsmanship also looks to be more skilled than a regular make."

"Bloodberry mixture." Freya interjected. "The pigmentation of the red paint comes from Bloodberries. Bloodberry pigment contains more iron than normal pigments for paint, and that's why it looks more metallic. Bloodberries only grown near the Animalia Pride Lands."

The mask seemed to carry qualities from both Argenta and Drakmar. How did the makers get hold of such materials?`

"This mask is intriguing indeed." Duke Trent informed Elthin. "I'd like to examine it further but I'd have to take it back to my Forge to do so."

Elthin watched as both Duke Trent and Freya studied the mask.

"You can hold onto the mask if you wish, I only ask if you find anything else about it. To let me know?" Elthin asked.

He thought over what the two had spoken about.

"Could someone of shipped a box of Bloodberries here?" Elthin asked.

Elthin agreed to allow Duke Trent to study the mask more thoroughly on the condition that, if he finds anything out, he inform Elthin.

"Thanks for the opportunity. I'll be sure to let you know what I find out." Duke Trent agreed.

Elthin then asked about the Bloodberries.

"The Animalia do not trade with anyone, and we would definitely not trade something as dangerous as Bloodberries. Bloodberries are extreme hallucinogens if their aroma is inhaled once they've been crushed. They're mostly used as a more potent Opium alternative for life-threatening operations and diseases. However, they are only ingested in that way, as then only the patient is inflicted with the hallucinations." Freya explained. "However, while we do not export our trade, the other inhabitants of the continent do. Perhaps, they managed to get one of their scouts close enough to harvest Bloodberries without alerting us."

Duke Trent agreed to share anymore information about the mask once her found it.

Elthin listened as Freya explained about the Bloodberries.

"Somehow they have gotten her maybe someone stole a batch of them. Or someone in one of your Clans is working for the enemy. I've seen something like this happen before but it's been a while." Elthin says,

"That could have also happened" Elthin added later.

Elthin gave his views on the Bloodberry import.

"The Animalia only stay true to the Earth Mother and their Pack. They would never betray their Pack for an enemy, no matter what they may gain from it. Doing so results in, at the very least, exile to the Bone Crags outside of the Pride Lands. At the worst, it is punishable by death in Honorable Combat with the Pack Mother herself. In that situation, the Earth Mother will judge who was in the right." Freya answered. "It is more probable that those tailless ones on the Continent stole them from our lands and sent them over."

"Maybe the tailless ones you speak of did do something like that or not. The only way to finding out the truth is searching for the answers."

Elthin thought over about anything else.

"I'd like to start my investigation into the Dragon rumors so I'll be calling this meeting to a close"

Elthin decided to call the meeting there. No one had any objections, except Zena piping up,

"I gotta pee, where's your toilet?" Zena asked Elthin quite frankly.

"That's not the way you're taught to request things as guests now, is it?" Duke Trent mildly reprimanded Zena.

"Oh, sorry. May I go pee? Where's your toilet?" Zena tried again.

"Close enough, I guess." Duke Trent sighed.

Suddenly, Lucine chipped in quite unexpectedly.

"I'll show our 'Guest' to the toilet." Lucine suggested to Elthin. "May I?"

For volunteering to show a former rival around the house, Lucine more than likely had a plan within a plan.

Zena wished to use the bathroom.

"I guess so" Elthin said.

Lucine then wished to show Zena where the toilet was.

"You can show her where it is" Elthin told her.

Elthin agreed to let Lucine chaperone Zena to the facilities in the house.

"Please, follow me." Lucine requested of Zena as politely as she could.

"I don't really trust you..." Zena quietly informed Lucine. "What're you planning?

Lucine simply gave a polite smile and led Zena out of the basement.

A little while later, Lucine returned to inform the waiting individuals.

"Shall I show our guests to the door?" Lucine asked Elthin, trying to play the perfect hostess.

Elthin watched Lucine lead Zena out of then room. He wondered if she was planning anything and for a moment thought nothing of it. Lucine then returned later and asked about showing the others to the door.

"We can both do that" Elthin informed her. As he started to leave the basement with the others behind him.

After the pair led the guests to the door, Zena moved closer to Freya as she waited for Duke Trent to leave.

"Thanks for having us, despite how I may have potentially forced an entry to your home. I apologise for that, but I was worried for Zena." Duke Trent thanked Elthin. "Also, thanks for letting me look at this mask once more. I'll be sure to keep you updated on my findings."

He then said something to Elthin for only him to hear.

"Despite how they seem at each other's throats all the time, I think Zena's taken quite the shine to Lucine. I'd be happy if she could spend some time with her when she's next in town." Duke Trent requested.

After the private discussion between Guardians of minors, Duke Trent led his little group back into town, waving goodbye as he did so. Lucine returned the gesture with a pleasant smile and a slight look at Zena, who was talking with Freya at present.

Elthin and the others were soon joined by Zena. Who seemed to move closer to Freya he looked at her and wondered if something was done against her in the time Lucine was with her.

"You are welcome as I found this to be an honor. I understand your feelings on Zena and again I am sorry for what I've done,"

Duke Trent then spoke to him quietly.

"She might of only time will tell in how she truly thinks of her" Elthin told him.

The others then left and Elthin waved goodbye to the others. Which then left him alone with Lucine he turned to face her. "Did you do anything to Zena while alone with her?" Elthin asked.

After the guests were seen off, Elthin started to grill Lucine on what she did. She looked mildly upset by the accusation.

"Do you think I'm a bad girl or something?" Lucine questioned. "Why would I do something bad to a guest? All I did was talk to her a little. Is talking a crime?"

"Am just wondering is all" Elthin asked her.

He wasn't sure whether to believe Lucine or not but wasn't going to press matters at the moment.

Elthin still bore suspicion in the ways of Lucine's testimony but decided not to push further.

"Anyway, now that that's all over with, I'm starving." Lucine stated. "Is lunch still on the schedule?"

They went back into the house and Lucine asked about lunch.

"Yes, it's still on the schedule," He said.

Leading Lucine into the kitchen he went about making the pair a late lunch. Seeing as how he had some leftovers from a couple nights ago. Elthin went about using those for their lunch it was a simple salad and rabbit mix with the salad being on one side and the rabbit on the other.

"I was thinking of checking out the taverns later for rumors about any dragon sightings. Is there any sort of tavern that gets more information about random things more than others. That I should try out first?" Elthin asked.

Elthin led Lucine into the kitchen and began preparing lunch for the pair. He asked about any taverns which may include information about the Dragon rumours circulating around.

"Best to try the ones nearest the gates as they get the most travellers. Also, it's better to only turn up with the essentials, as taverns are a hotspot for pickpockets, and you've already proven that you're not that observant around thieves. Don't take anything from strange merchants who don't show their faces as it's more than likely stolen or a fake item to extort money of dense rich people. All in all, just go in, get what you need done and clear out before getting roped into anything. There're a lot of prossies in taverns as well, so don't take any offers from over perfumed half naked women." Lucine explained.

While Elthin was still heating up the rabbit he listened to Lucine.

"Should I take you along for backup just in case something but were to happy?" Elthin asked. While running over everything she had told him in his mind. "Seems simple enough yet more like a cheap way of doing things but I guess that's what some people enjoy doing." Elthin finished cooking up the rabbit after a few minutes. Only to then cut slices of so that they both could have a little of it.

Elthin suggested the idea of taking Lucine along as backup.

"Kids aren't allowed in taverns, so I won't be able to come in with you. After all, taverns are a place where adults go to get pissed and complain about their lives, of course kids will only be a problem to them." Lucine added on. "To some people, extorting money and pickpocketing are the only ways they can survive. Not everyone can be blessed with lots of money. It's either steal or starve in that world, and starving isn't on the top of anyone's list."

"Then what can you do in the meantime, as I'm sure you don't want to me here all alone?" Elthin asked. He placed both rabbit slices onto their plates and got a couple of glasses for them both pouring apple juice into them both. He set them on the table along with their lunch and silverware before starting to eat.

"I don't really know. I'm not against being home alone, though it may be really boring. You don't exactly have much I can do here alone." Lucine answered as lunch was placed on the table. "Guess we could ask that cat-eared girl if she'll be willing to look after me while you're out."

Most of the food she'd been getting while living here had included copious amounts of greenery, despite how she wasn't took keen on it, and how she made that obvious. Although, she'd always been taught to never waste food, as it was really hard to come by in her old life. Lucine first started on the meat part of the lunch, leaving the salad until later.

"That's something we can do, just no doing anything else mean to Zena if Freya agrees to watch you ok?"

Elthin ate his meal in peace taking a moment to look at Lucine, Thoughts of what Freya had told him earlier entered his mind and he quickly pushed them away. That wasn't the sort of thing he wanted to be thinkng of at the moment.

"Who's to say that the bedwetter would even be there?" Lucine questioned, sounding mildly cross with the second accusation from Elthin. "And why do you keep thinking that I'm gonna mess with the baby?! Do you really think I'm that bad?"

Lucine, after giving her answer, continued to eat her lunch. She was unaware that Elthin was thinking lewd thoughts of her.

"Because you know things about her that can but used to your advantage" Elthin pointed out. He went back to eating his lunch. The lewd thoughts left his mind and Elthin finished his meal placing the dishes into the sink.

"Yeah, I do. But, they're no use to me if everyone I'm with knows that she soaks the sheets." Lucine countered. "That kind of information will only benefit me if it can break her down. Also, she accused me of it as well, even though it was clearly a false accusation."

Lucine finished her food, taking a little longer than normal eating the salad, and placed her cutlery in the sink.

"That wasn't a false accusation and just make sure that doesn't happen again" Elthin tells her with a wink.

After they both had finished lunch they headed outside again. First heading towards where Elthin knew Freya would be.

After Lucine had safely put the cutlery and plate into the sink, Elthin gave out a little piece of information which she believed he didn't know about. If she was still holding anything, she would have dropped it there and then as she just stared in disbelief at the announcement from Elthin. She tried to voice an answer, but only little squeaks and gasps came out of her mouth.

Lucine went quiet and Elthin didn't push the matter forward. They walked in silence for a while longer until they reached a large square with a crowd of people going about their everyday business.

Despite the silence of his travelling companion, Elthin continued to head over to the Apothecary to request Freya to babysit Lucine while he gathered information. The square was a little more busy than earlier, but still lacking in its usual vibrant personality. The threat of an imminent Inquisition visit was possibly ignored for now, as the news that they may still be a day's travel away reached the general populace.

Before heading on towards the Apothecary Elthin took a short time to work. Around the square just taking his time. What he was doing was walking slowly listening in on some people's conversations by just walking past them. What he was trying was to learn anything on any new sort of dragon sights that might have been seen in the area. The was a rather long shot but he hoped to learn something before moving on.

During the walk to the Apothecary, Elthin tried to listen in to people's conversations to pick up on any hints regarding the Dragon rumours. Most of the people in the square were traders who were more intent on insisting that their good were 'the best money can buy'. Some of the conversing groups of Noblemen did have some interesting tidbits of information, though. Apparently, at the 'Desert Rose' Tavern, which was the one by the main gate to the city, a travelling merchant was trying to pawn off some ochre scales, claiming that they had come from an Ochre Dragon, which the merchant just happened to catch a mirage of before finding the scales in the sands.

Elthin in is walk was able to pick up some interesting tidbits of information. He learned that at the 'Desert Rose' Tavern. That a merchant was trying to sell some scales claiming they belonged to an Ochre Dragon, Elthin decided he'd check this rumor out first once he was alone. Soon he rejoined Lucine and walked towards the Apothecary they arrived at the doors to the place. Yet before heading in Elthin spoke to Lucine.

"I have an assignment for you I'd like for you to try and befriend Freya." Elthin says.

Upon arrival at the entrance to the Apothecary, Elthin made a request of Lucine.

"That shouldn't be too hard. She seems like a nice panther-girl...thing..." Lucine answered. "Why ask something even a baby could do? Can't you give me a harder task?"

"So you'd like something harder now would you?" Elthin asked.

He thought on something harder that Lucine could do. "How about also trying to find out as much Freya as you can see if she's hiding anything from us."

Elthin reconsidered the task he'd set for Lucine and offered a slightly more challenging one.

"That sounds more like it." Lucine agreed with a smile. "I'll see what I can do.

Upon the task being decided, the pair entered the Apothecary. The first thing which greeted them when they entered was a overpowering scent of a multitude of herbs, tinctures, salves and medical supplies. It wasn't a bad smell, it was, however, incredibly more potent due to the heat of the desert entering the store. The inside of the Apothecary looked like a typical herbalists store: row upon row of planters and incubating trays filled to the brim with innumerable herbs positioned on a hardwood desk by the window, numerous herbs tied to the ceiling to dry and become fermented, lots of different vials and containers filling a cabinet opposite the window, and several different planters located in the middle of the room on a kind of makeshift natural patch of mud and grass inside of a glass table-like container.

Aside from the usual expected things to see inside of a Pharmacist's workplace, there were two small girls a little further in, one was seated on an empty workspace kicking her legs gently back and forth, and the other was on a stool next to a desk opposite the empty workspace.

The girl on the desk was dressed in a fine expensive looking silver sleeveless dress with black lace hems and flowers stitched onto the garment. She had her platinum hair tied up in twintails with dark grey bows holding them in place on the sides of her head. Her eyes looked decidedly grey from this distance, yet so full of life. She looked to be a little younger than Lucine, but the topics she was talking about sounded far too complex for someone of such a young age. On her feet she had silver sandle-like footwear fastened by a grey flower-like clip on the inside of each ankle.

The other young girl, the one positioned on the desk opposite the first girl, looked to be roughly the same age, but carried a completely different look to her. This girl had pale green hair not styled in any particular way and left to just descend down her back to its full length. Her eyes were a deep emerald colour. She had a black gown-like dress with dark green flower-shaped buttons fastening the back of the dress and plain green slip-ons on her feet. This girl was decidedly quieter than the other.

They were engaged in some form of conversation, which could only faintly be heard from this distance. They seemed like they had yet to notice Elthin's arrival.

"That's good as an added bonus if she's there try to find out. A little more about Zena try asking her some questions if she isn't here then forget about it," Elthin spoke.

They soon entered into the Apothecary they were greeted by an overpowering scent. Of herbs, tinctures, salves and other things. Looking around it appeared the place was rather small and also had alot of planters with various herbs in them around the room. Elthin spotted two girls further inside and saw them seated next to the empty workspace, He took a few moments to look at them seeing as how they looked around Lucine's age if not a little younger.

Seeing as how they were talking among themselves Elthin and Lucine walked. Up to the pair when there was a break in their talking. "Excuse me perhaps you could help me?" Elthin asked.

Elthin added one more clause onto what he was requesting.

"Guess I'll have to, if she's present, that is." Lucine answered, sounding a little against the idea of trying to get to know Zena better.

Upon receiving no service upon entrance, Elthin decided to take matters into his own hand and request for some help from the only other present. When Elthin voiced his request, both girls jumped in surprise a little. The Green haired one of the pair quickly got up from her seat to stand a little away from the 'customers', and the Platinum haired one just quickly ducked behind the Green haired girl to hide. However, it wasn't really a great hiding spot, as the girl's twintails gave away her position. Both of the girls were clearly startled and nervous about receiving guests. The Platinum haired girl just quietly whimpered in fear behind the Green haired girl, who was left to do the talking.

"U-um, a-are you a patient? Or, p-perhaps a c-customer?" The Green haired girl stammered.

Upon closer inspection, both of the girls were a good deal shorter than Lucine was. The poor speaker had to look up to see Elthin.

The Green haired girl was the first to speak up and she seemed to stammer in reply.

"I'd be neither of those sorry but if it's possible can I please see Freya. You can tell her that Elthin Veldhar wishes to ask her for a favor?" Elthin asked.

He took notice that the other girl seemed scared of him. This seemed rather odd to him were all of them here going to be scared of him.

Elthin informed the young duo that he was neither a customer nor a patient and that he wished to see Freya.

"Okay, please wait a moment." The green haired girl replied as the Platinum haired girl peeked around her to see Elthin and Lucine. Before the Green haired girl could move, the Platinum haired girl quickly took off past the piece of cloth draped over the doorway leading to the back room of the Apothecary, leaving her poor companion to entertain the guests. The poor girl didn't know what to do, so she just stood in awkward silence and stared at the floor. Thankfully, she was saved by Freya a little while later.

Freya exited from behind the cloth drape with the Platinum haired girl hiding behind her.

"Oh, have you decided to take me up on my offer?" Freya asked with a slight smile. "Or, perhaps, you wish for your young companion to be initiated in the ways of procreation?"

The green haired girl went off to get Freya. But it was actually the Platinum haired one who was the first to move. A while later Freya arrived to greet the pair.

"Um maybe some other time" Elthin replied with a slight blush,

He regained himself and spoke once more. "I was wondering if you could look after Lucine her for a little while. As I've got some personal business to attend to?" Elthin asked.

Elthin passed on the offer from Freya, but voiced an equally innuendo ridden answer as to why he arrived there.

"Going hunting for mates so you need me to watch your child? Syl and Willow need to work more on their social skills, so I guess I can watch her for you. How long will you be?" Freya asked. "Also, if you score, just let me know and I can prepare a bed for her here."

"I'm not doing anything of the sort" Elthin told her.

He just seemed to lose his cool as Freya wanted to know how long he'd be. And if he scored to let her know about it.

"I shall be gone for about two hours maybe less depending on how things go. And once more I'm not hunting for mates unless you'd like to be mine that is?" Elthin asked.

Elthin just dropped himself even further into Freya's mind games.

"Is this reverse psychology? I've been offering a chance since I met you, and now you're offering me a chance? Shall we go now? I can lock the door to the bedroom, if that's what you want. Lucine can keep the girls occupied while we work on getting to know each other better." Freya answered, looking to be quite seductive in the way she did so.

"What he's trying to say, but failing miserably at, is that he wishes to go down the tavern and get started on what the Duke asked of him." Lucine quickly cut in, sounding rather angry at Elthin's lack of clarity. "He's not looking for mates, and he's not going to score."

After Lucine clarified things, Freya's behaviour returned to more manageable levels.

"Well, he should've been more clear." Freya replied with a shrug. "I can watch her while you go out asking your questions. Like I said, it'll do Syl and Willow good to have someone else to talk to rather than each other and myself."

Elthin dropped himself more into the games Freya was playing.

Elthin only blushed further and was at a loss for words. It was Lucine who spoke up for him which seemed to turn things around. He looked at Lucine for a moment to see if she was jealous of him at all then looked away when he was back to himself again.

"Sorry, I had thought it wouldn't have been wise to mention what was talked about. Around others here so I'll be heading off then" Elthin said as he mentioned to Syl and Willow at first. He gave a hug to Lucine and then a pat on Syl's head before leaving the place.

Thankfully, Lucine cleared up all the misunderstandings between Freya and Elthin, allowing Elthin to take his leave. Before going, Elthin checked to see if Lucine was jealous of the attention Elthin was getting. She did seem a little put off by how close Freya was trying to get to him, but that could just be childish envy, as Lucine was kind of ignored in comparison to the amount of attention he was giving others. Elthin gave Lucine a quick hug and patted the Platinum haired girl behind Freya on the head. Syl just trembled a little before seemingly relaxing upon the head-pat. WIllow, the green haired girl, seemed to be kind of jealous of the attention the more cowardly of the duo was getting.

"Don't be too long, and don't get too drunk." Freya cautioned as Elthin left the Apothecary, leaving Lucine to try and bond with the strange duo of Platinum and Green.

"I won't" Elthin replied before leaving the building.

Once he was gone Elthin made his way towards the Tavern he had heard. About from the group of people earlier. In his mind he was trying to think of the best ways he could. Get the information he needed without drawing too much attention to himself. After a short walk and time to gather his thoughts he arrived at the tavern,

After a few minutes walk, Elthin arrived at the 'Desert Rose' Tavern. Like all taverns in this area, it was mostly made from wood and mortar, with a large sign hung up outside featuring a landscape view of a desert with a large beautiful rose taking up the forefront. According to local sources, the Desert Rose was a popular watering hole for most merchants coming into the town, and also some nobles came down her to mingle with the lesser groups and also check out what wares the travelling merchants bring.

Elthin entered the tavern and was greeted by the potent aroma of tobacco, alcohol and sweat. It was pretty packed at present, despite it still being late afternoon. There were a few tables going spare, but none of them were alone in secluded corners, as most people who were traders took up those spaces to fence their wares safely and away from prying eyes. It was a very large tavern, possibly the biggest in all of Brascus, and spanned two whole floors of drinking areas and a further two floors as an Inn for traders. There were a few rather scantily clad exotic women milling around the tables and performing lap dances for anyone willing to throw a few copper of silver their way. If people offered gold, the girls went under the tables, followed by the sounds of zippers being pulled down and the sound of contented sighs from the patrons offering the gold. Only one's imagination could concoct what those women may be doing.

Elthin entered into the 'Desert Rose' and was greeted my the aroma, Of tobacco and alcohol the place was pretty packed at the moment. With little tables to spare when he walked around inside he made his way to one of the empty tables. Taking a seat he waited for one of the exotic clad women to come over to him. Soon enough one did and asked him for an order which Elthin responded with wanting a beer. As the girl went off to get him his drink Elthin looked around the place. Trying to find out just where this merchant could be hiding among everyone here.

Upon taking a seat and giving his drink order, Elthin began to look around the Tavern for any indication of the supposed Dragon Scale merchant. The most common haunt of seedy merchants were the corner seats or seats near walls where no one could sneak up on them. There were a few individuals who fit the description of the Merchant Elthin was looking for, but finding just the right one would be difficult. There were around four Merchants Elthin could see from his current position.

The first Merchant wore clothing hailing from Port Ralence, due to the flamboyant silken garments and a turban on his head. He was peddling, at first glance, little charms which are hung in front of windows to ward off evil spirits. They looked to be cloth bound around a wooden frame, with silken threads spun around the middle in the shape of a spider web. Dangling down from the charm were strands of silk ending in feathers from local birds.

The second Merchant looked more technological than the first and was clearly from Argenta. This merchant was selling mostly weaponry, all clad in scabbards and bound properly. Of course, there was a Tavern bouncer guarding this particular individual due to the nature of the good they were selling.

The third Merchant looked like a Magician. This one was selling scrolls in cases and books of an Arcane origin. Apparently, according to this merchant's claims, the scrolls they sell work better than Elemental Stones, and the books can grant magical knowledge to anyone, despite if they were born with the Gift or not.

The fourth and final Merchant was clad all in black and wearing a bandanna over their face so only their amber eyes could be seen. They didn't appear to have any good on display, but people were still flocking over to them and asking them what they were selling.

Elthin spotted four Merchants who could be the person who he was looking for. He took his time to study all four of them and decided he'd try out the first Merchant who was dressed all flamboyant. he took his drink which he was later given and walked over to the man. As he got closer Elthin took this time to look over what the man was selling and then asked.

"Would you perhaps have anything rare for sale maybe something. One normally doesn't see everyday?" Elthin asked.

Elthin decided to try his luck with the Port Ralence merchant first. The merchant spoke in heavily accented tones, reminiscent of the Sultan's speedy banter.

"Oh, my good sir. I carry only the rarest of all rare goods. The real deal, I tell you! No other Merchant can compare to the goods I stock." The Merchant began his usual selling jargon. He lifted up one of his goods and showed it to Elthin. "These little charms protect your home from any evil spirit which may try to enter while you sleep. Just hang them up in front of your window, and the charm will work its magic while you sleep, trapping any evil spirit in its web of blessed silk until the spirit disappears in the morning sunlight. For only ten silver pieces, you can protect your home from all evils. Never again will you have to search for something you're sure you've placed down somewhere before but it's not there anymore. All of your fine garments will remain crease free and dustless! I promise you that this works 100% if the time. For only ten silver pieces, it's a steal!"

Elthin took a seat beside the Merchant he then listened to what the Merchant had to say. Who then went into his usual selling jargon. As he lifted up one of his goods to show to Elthin and began to explain just what it did.

"Do, you sell anything else other then charms?" Elthin asked. He didn't want to give away what he was looking for.

Elthin asked if the Merchant sold anything other than charms.

"Ah, a more discerning customer, are you?" The Merchant asked with a smile as he reached into his pack and pulled out a cask of bottles filled with an alcoholic beverage. "Dragon Fire Whisky. You shake it up before drinking and it colours to a look similar to a Dragon's fire. Once you drink it, you'd best take it slow, as it lives up to its name. If you can handle the heat, then you are truly a strong person. Some say it feels like a Dragon has breathed down their throat if the drink it too quickly. A cask of four bottles for only five silver. It's the best deal you'll find."

"Yes" Elthin replied.

The Merchant reached into his pack and pulled out a cask of bottles. He noticed one of the bottles was labeled. 'Dragon Fire Whisky' he took a moment to look at it as he sipped his beer. "Is this the only dragon item you have you wouldn't happen to have anything else for sale. Related to dragons now would you?" Elthin asked as he declined the alcoholic beverage with a shake of his head.

The Merchants wares, coupled with his salesperson patter, were having no effect on this difficult customer.

"Dragons, you say?" The merchant replied with a slight chuckle. "I have Dragon statues, dragon shaped charms and Dragon candelabras, but that is all. Dragons are mythical creatures borne of drunkards delusions, after all."

The Merchant listed the types of Dragon things that he had.

"Would you be carrying say by chance maybe something off a dragon perhaps. Maybe like a scale or a small tooth?"

Elthin went right ahead with what he was asking for, provoking a hearty laugh from the Merchant.

"Have you been down in the cups before coming to me?" The Merchant asked, still laughing a little. "I already said that Dragons are mythical creatures from Drunkards' addled minds, they do not exist. Now then, if you seek myths and legends, my store is not the place for you."

The Merchant laughed at him.

"They can be as real as you or I even from Drunkards tales. People have seen them before and sorry for wasting your time" Elthin got up from the table and made his way over to the masked Merchant.

Elthin tried to defend his case in regards to Dragon Culture. The merchant just simply nodded absently and, soon enough, Elthin swapped merchants. The Masked Merchant was possibly the most popular out of all the merchants present due to the fact that they were not openly displaying their ware. This popularity could be down to curiosity of the buyers, or it may be down to something else. There were a lot of people waiting to speak to the merchant, held at bay by a rather bulky looking individual, equally as concealed as the vendor. Neither of them seemed to speak, despite the customers hawking at them to reveal their wares. They just simply regarded their customers with calculating looks before either sending them away or the vendor speaking in hushed tones to them.

When Elthin arrived a large crowd was around the Merchant. He took a moment to look to just what he might have in for wares. But was stopped from moving forward due to a rather bulky person. Taking his place in line Elthin watched the merchant.

Elthin tried to catch a glimpse of the ware the Enigmatic merchant may have for sale, but could find no trace. Every attempt at reaching the merchant before the line was stopped by the bulky bodyguard. The bodyguard caused no immediate distress in anyone, and simply ushered them away as gentlemanly as possible.

Despite the length of the line, it was moving quite quickly. Out of the twenty or so gathered waiting for the merchant, only two of them so far have been accepted to be spoken to by the Merchant. Soon enough, Elthin's turn came around and the Merchant looked him up and down, not moving from their position. With a slight nod of the merchant's head to the Bodyguard, Elthin was allowed into the small booth which the merchant had set up to keep all forms of prying eyes, both magical and non-magical away from them. As soon as Elthin entered, he felt like a block had been placed on the magic coursing through his body. This was similar to being struck by an anti-magic spell, or entering a zone which had been warded against Magicians. It gave no physical discomfort, but the very thought of being stripped of their powers may send some would-be buyers away.

The line moved fairly quickly and soon his turn came around. But as he came closer to the merchant he felt as if a block. Had been placed upon his powers much like some unseen spell had been cast. He was annoyed by this outcome as he had happened to him before but knew that the merchant was just taking steps to protect himself and his wares. When he was in the small booth Elthin thought of what was soon to go down.

Elthin remained by the door of the booth upon finding the warding against his powers had taken effect. The merchant simply nodded knowingly and gave their reasoning. The Merchant's accent sounded quite foreign and not from any of the Continents Elthin knew about. It sounded like a mixture between Drakmar dialect with a Mainland twang and a slight hint of Brascus's accent. The merchant was clearly well travelled to have adopted so many different accents and dialects.

"A simple precaution to ensure that we are on even terms. I am no magic user, so I have to work around that." The Merchant explained. "Come, take a seat. I trust you are looking for some rare goods, if your talk with the misinformed portly charlatan are anything to go by?"

Elthin walked forward and took a seat as the Merchant explained himself.

"Oh, I understand and yes I am looking for some rare goods." Elthin stated. The Merchant seemed to know about his chant with the last Merchant. "He I'm afriad didn't have what I was looking for perhaps you might if I may ask may I take a look at your wares?" Elthin asked.

Elthin took a seat opposite the Merchant and explained his case.

"That entirely depends on what you are looking for and what you intend to use it for." The Merchant replied. "The other sought fame and fortune from my work, maybe you are different?"

"I seek knowledge and perhaps certain items I have heard rumors about. I care nothing of fame and fortune my friend." Elthin says. Thinking over next what he was about to say to the man.

"I can see that you are well travelled and perhaps you can help me. I've heard a rumor that a Dragon might live in or has been seen around our surrounding area. While most Dragon sightings are nothing more that Drunkard tales and are not to be believed, I ask you, friend, if perhaps you might have encountered one in your travels across the desert?"

Elthin stated that he was there for knowledge and not personal gain. He then gave his request to the Merchant, who calculated the overall cost silently.

"If it is knowledge you seek, then knowledge you will have to give. To gain the knowledge you desire, you will need to sate my curiosity as well." The Merchant began. "The price of the information you seek will be as follows: During my time in this establishment, I have learned of some interesting things which have happened not too soon before I arrived. In addition, the Inquisition are making there way here at a rapid pace. What I would like to know is what may have sparked their advancement onto such a quaint city like this?"

It seemed that the merchant was willing to make a trade. Knowledge for knowledge was how things were going to turn out. He then spoke about learning things that have happened in the city as he arrived and also knew about the Inquisition. He wanted to know just what had brought them to this city and Elthin had to think about how he wanted to answer this question.

"All I really know is they maybe they are looking for someone or something. That hasn't been known to have ever shown itself here before. They are coming here to find out the truth of this very matter with their own eyes." Elthin stated at first. He didn't know how much the merchant knew but was playing it safe for right now.

Elthin decided to take up the trade and gave off limited information. The Merchant took in the information and offered up information of an equal value in regards to what Elthin was looking for.

"I have heard the rumors of dragons and I saw what I believed to be a silhouette of a Dragon on my way here. However, it was quite a distance away and in the middle of a sandstorm, so it may have just been a large lizard indigenous to the area." The Merchant answered. "If you want to know more, you know the price."

The merchant gave off as much information that Elthin gave in his answer.

Elthin needed to know more about what the merchant had seen. He knew how to get it but didn't want to risk revealing to the merchant about Lucine. Who might have either known about her or not "there is a rumor going around that what they are searching for may have the command of two. Of the elemental powers though this is just a rumor after all."

Elthin decided to offer a little more information on the topic, however, it was brief at best. The merchant simply gave another answer of equal value.

"One rumour in this city is that someone may have found some interesting items while traversing the desert in a Sandstorm, though that is just a rumour, after all." The Merchant answered

This was getting him no where quickly and Elthin wasn't sure how much. Time left with the merchant he had before the next person's turn came up.

"There was a recent explosion in the Slums that a bunch of Magicians, Were recently investigating I've heard that someone caused the explosion yet also that a certain artifact was found within the ruins of the Slum dwelling."

Elthin tried once more to squeeze as much information out of the Merchant as possible.

"My sources tell me that Dragons have a thing for ruins built on Strong Magical Leylines. They tend to make such places their lair and that is also where they stash their hoard. However, it is not unheard of for Dragons to leave their lair if they are searching for something. What they have lost is as much a Mystery as their existence." The Merchant answered.

Elthin listened as the merchant spoke once again.

"I've heard rumors of a certain cult making their home in a set of ruins. Not far from the city a certain item was found the other day that may belong to them. Rumor has it that this cult is also searching for this person for their own reasons. As to what these reasons are I do not know."

The mind game between Elthin and the Merchant continued, with the Merchant currently winning on information gained.

"Some people have reported seeing a young copper haired girl wandering around the desert searching for something, or someone. Soon after the girl departs, people have reported sightings of Dragon prints appearing in the sand and sudden Sandstorms whipping up where the girl was."

What the merchant just reveal to Elthin caught his interest more then the other. Things he had heard the merchant speak of before.

"A girl has is who the Inquisition is searching for the same could be said about this cult. I haven't been able to learn the name of this girl as of yet."

The information trading was getting more heated now as interesting information was offered by both sides.

"Some people believe that this copper haired wandering girl is a hatchling Dragon who's been born in human form. Conjecture may dictate, due to the closeness of the two sightings, that both the girl and the Dragon may be looking for one another, or they may be one and the same person."

Elthin was just about to reveal more but decided against it. While everything the merchant said could be either true of just a rumor. He decided to play it safe for right now "I believe that's all the information that I shall be revealing."

Elthin decided to call it there for the information trade.

"Then I will call this business deal to a close, unless you want something more. It's been a pleasure doing business with you." The Merchant answered.

"Maybe another time" Elthin simplely answered.

He got up and soon headed out of the tavern going back to where he had left Lucine.

"Then I may see you again, or I may not. Good fortune in your hunt." The Merchant replied as Elthin left the booth and headed back towards the Apothecary.

Around an hour had passed since he'd entered the Tavern, so he was a little early for pick-up.

Elthin arrived back at the Apothecary with an hour to spare. He was rather early and as he walked inside he made his way up to the two girls.

"May I please see Freya again?" Elthin asked.

Elthin just headed straight back to the Apothecary without doing anything else on the way. Upon his arrival, he noticed that Lucine had gelled quite well with Syl and Willow, as they were engaged in usual girl-to-girl conversations. Syl didn't seem so shy or reserved around Lucine any more, and Willow was also a little more talkative.

Elthin announced his presence, causing Syl to duck behind Willow once more, and for Lucine to look over at Elthin with a surprised look on her face.

"You're really early." She informed Elthin. "Info gathering not go well, or something?"

"I gathered some information but decided to cut things off early. Let's just say that I decided to stop gathering info as I may have had to reveal somethings I wouldn't have wanted to do. The person I spoke with seemed well informed and knows that the Inquisition is coming here." Elthin tells Lucine.

He saw that Syl ducked behind Willow once more.

"Am I really that scary to you?" Elthin asked.

He walked over to Syl and gently took her hand.

Elthin gave a rundown of what he'd gathered from his findings.

"New travels fast in such a small city like this." Lucine agreed with a shrug.

Elthin then took a great interest in Syl's shyness and tried to hold her hand. However, Syl then quickly moved over to behind Lucine, leaving Willow in the social situation once more.

"Syl's just really shy, that's all." Lucine explained, trying to draw some attention off her newfound friends. "She was like that with me when I first tried to talk to her. Eventually, she warmed up to me and we started talking. It took the best part of the hour to do so, though."

Lucine explained about Syl.

"Guess I should try and speak with her but sadly don't have an hour to spend doing that" Elthin pointed out.

"I'm not that bad a guy once you get to know the real me" Elthin spoke to Syl then. Turned to Lucine again "how were things here did you enjoy your stay here?" Elthin asked,

Elthin tried to convince Syl to not be too jumpy around him, but all he got in response was a stifled whimper as Syl tried to hide behind Lucine even more, Turing his attention away from the scared little kitten of a girl, Elthin asked if Lucine enjoyed her time at the Apothecary.

"From only being here an hour, I've not really had much of a time to soak in this place enough. I'd say, from what I know at present, that I did have a nice time here, and I also made some new friends." Lucine answered.

The commotion of conversation drew Freya from the back room.

"You're earlier than expected. I take it things didn't go too well?" Freya questioned as she left the back room. "It took your little friend there a good deal of time to coax Syl out of her shell, and it might take you a good deal longer. Syl's still very shy around strangers, even more so around males."

Freya returned a litte while later.

"Well, as we talk about things that I've learned Lucine hear can interact more with Syl. In my freetime I can always come here and try the same as well. Anyway on the topic at hand I did learn some things but while they can be only rumors I'd like to hear your thoughts on what I have to tell you?"

Elthin proposed an opportunity to bond with Syl.

"If you can, that would be well received. Syl needs more practice at talking to people as she'll soon take on messenger duties to help Willow out." Freya answered. "Talking to Lucine is also good practice, but most messages go to adults, and Lucine is still a peer to Syl and doesn't quite fit the description of most of the recipients of our messages."

Elthin explained that he had learned a few things from his information gathering,

"If you are fine with having an audience of four, then we can talk here. If you'd rather have a more private talk, then my room should suffice." Freya informed Elthin. "Though, that would make strange pillow talk."

"Why don't we use the Lab instead?" Lucine suggested, trying to sound as civil as possible. "That's private, isn't it?"

"I'd rather things be private, but I'm not falling for your games again. So things will be best talked about in the Lab as Lucine pointed out." Elthin says.

He took a moment to walk over to Syl.

"How, long have you been working here?" Elthin asked.

Elthin took Lucine's advice and brushed aside the comment about 'pillow talk'.

"That's a shame. I guess the Lab will have to suffice." Freya sighed. "I normally don't let customers into the lab unless they're patients, but I guess we can use it for this."

Elthin tried once more to communicate with the shy girl, but was once again met with scared whimpers.

"She's only been here for a little over a month." Lucine explained. "However, that's not why she's so shy, I think. I couldn't really get much out of her about that."

Elthin tried to think up someway to make Syl overcome her shyness.

"What if we invited her over to the Manor could that help?" Elthin asked.

After getting his answer.

Elthin followed Freya towards the Lab.

"That'll only scare the poor girl even more." Freya answered, "Are you trying to make abducting young girls a habit, or something? Is that what you're in to?"

After the answer was given, Freya led Elthin into the Alchemy Lab. It was decked out like most standard Magician Alchemy Laboratories, with workdesks lined across each wall and a few in the middle in a domino-four setup. Each desk had varying alchemical components on. However, one thing in this particular laboratory was not like the ones in any Magician's laboratory. There was a person-sized cylinder of strange metal near the back of the Laboratory. It had frosted glass on the door, creating an impenetrable viewing angle as to what was inside. It appeared sealed now, but why it was sealed and what was sealed inside was unknown.

"Please try not to touch anything." Freya cautioned Elthin as they headed to the middle of the room. Freya then turned to Elthin. "What did you find out? And why do you think I could help with it?"

"How about I take you back home for your so called 'pillow talk'?" Elthin said not caring how Freya would take it.

He followed her into the lab and looked around it was a lot different. Then what he was normally used to he then turned Freya.

"This is what I learned," Elthin told her.

So, he explained everything that had happened between himself and the two merchants. Who he had talked with while at the same time trying to watch what Freya's mood might be. When he told her about the rumors the two merchants had told him about.

Elthin offered for the 'pillow talk' to happen at home. Freya simply giggled seductively and Lucine began to mouth off some obscenities to Elthin while poor Willow had to cover both her ears and Syl's.

In the slightly calmer Alchemy Lab, Elthin explained what he had found out. Freya's expressions seemed mostly neutral and calculating, but they turned slightly more to concerned when Elthin explained just how much information he'd exchanged about Lucine for the Dragon rumours.

"That was a rather poor tradeoff, in my opinion." Freya answered. "You offered up truths for potential lies. Are you an experienced barterer, or is there no bartering in your line of work?"

"This could be potential lies or they could be true, unless someone investigates this. We will never know on what the true outcome for this really is" Elthin said.

"Sorry but I don't go to bars all that often."

"Even so, you gave definite truths for potential truths." Freya insisted. "You can investigate them yourself to test their credibility if you wish to, but try to keep as much information withheld about Lucine as possible."

Elthin then seemed to mistake the definition of 'bartering'.

"Bartering can happen in any form of trading work, be them in taverns, Guilds or the marketplace." Freya explained. "It is the simple act of trying to squeeze as much out of your opponent while you give as little as you can."

"Then I'll just have to do that on my own then. I can't have Lucine getting involved further with things then she already is."

Freya talked or bartering.

"I'll just have to work on that in the future."

Elthin decided that he'd investigate the rumors on his own.

"Leaving Lucine alone right now is possibly not the best option. The Inquisition's looking for her, after all and now a trader knows a little about her. It'll probably be best to keep her as close as possible." Freya cautioned. "By all means, leave her with me while you search, but don't think she'll take it well if you keep hoisting her off on someone else."

"Then how can I go about searching these rumors out without. Letting Lucine know the truth on the matter maybe make a camping trip in the desert with you and both Willow and Syl. This would give me time to search for things and chances for further bonding between the girls?"

His idea was a rather odd one for searching the desert for rumors,

Elthin suggested a 'camping trip' in the desert to keep Lucine safe, to search for the rumours and to also improve bonding between himself and the girls.

"Seems a bit over the top for some simple rumour confirmation." Freya shrugged. "Though, if it was just us then..."

Freya let Elthin's mind run wild with whatever interpretation he might draw from that statement. Afterwards, she decided to propose an alternative.

"If Lucine already knows about what you're looking for, then I see no need in keeping her out of it. She was there when the deal was made, after all. Think of it as field testing for her newfound abilities when she's learned some. You can only learn so much in the classroom, after all, the rest has to be done in practice." Freya suggested.

"Well if this idea is too far out there what would you suggest just taking Lucine with me. And letting her learn even more of what I'm searching for?" Elthin asked.

He thought over what Freya had said.

"Trying to mate with me alone and from the eyes of the youngsters?"

Elthin caught on to the subtle hint from Freya.

"I don't mind how we do it. We can do it alone, in the middle of the marketplace during trading hours, or even in the Guild. Back in the Pride Lands, when the urge takes us, we just go with it." Freya explained. "Is that what you want? We can do it here and now if you're craving it as well."

Elthin decided to play Freya's game a little bit.

"If that's what you really want, let's do it here and now." Elthin stated.

He wanted to see just how far this would go to make her stop teasing him about it.

Elthin decided to play along with Freya's little game, much to his own detriment.

"I had a feeling you were holding back because of Lucine." Freya answered with a seductive grin. "The children aren't watching. We adults can do what we please."

Freya then began to strip off her tribal garments and was soon standing naked in front of Elthin. Her lithe form was just like the panther her ears and tail represented. She moved with a feline grace as she began to stalk towards Elthin, moving on just her hands and knees, and she began to raise her head towards Elthin's crotch before taking the zip of his fly in her teeth.

"Are you fgoing to fmake me fdo all the fwork?" Freya asked, her words mumbled by the zipper in her teeth. She then began to slowly lower her head, accompanied by the sound of a zipper undoing.

Elthin at first thought Freya would stop but soon enough she started to strip. Which means that his plan had backfired.

"If this will make you stop teasing me then yes."

She had a rather cute form and Elthin decided not to back out. Started to strip off his own clothes so that both them could have their fun.

Much to Freya's surprise, Elthin didn't back out. The seductive grin turned into a genuine smile as Elthin began to strip as well. Freya stood up from her fly-unzipping position, giving Elthin a full view of her naked form.

While Freya might not have been gifted in height or bust, she still carried a unique charm like no other. Her petite form was as graceful and elegant as a panther's sleek coat, matching the 'poetry in motion' belief for a cat's movement and form. Her B-cup breasts were perky and full of life, with slightly hardened nipples from the arousal of nakedness. Her exotic beauty even extended down to her quivering lower lips, which looked sleek and already lubricated from her excitement. They looked like a perfect peach, symmetrical in size and folds, seeping their nectar to readily accept the key which Elthin held, which would unlock the doors to Euphoria and paradise for the pair.

"I thought you'd never accept. I'm glad that you've chosen to be my Mate for this season." Freya gratefully mentioned. "Are you experienced, or shall I take the lead? Your body seems ready and willing to accept, but is your mind open for the experience?"

While part of Elthin did want to back out. He thought of doing so might upset Freya or insult her. So he kept things going as he would go the whole way.

He looked upon her nude form and walked closer. His own naked form was both muscular and had a few scars on his arms and legs. He built handsomely and looked to be enjoying Freya's body from down below as he was becoming aroused. When he was close enough he ran his hands across her fur stopping at her breasts which he cupped gently and fondled slowly.

"I'm experienced, just been some time since I last did this. You seem ready for this as well and I will say it's a first for me in mating with your kind."

Elthin began the foreplay by gently caressing Freya's ears. Going by animal anatomy, cat's ears are very sensitive to touch. It appeared that Animalia anatomy seemed to work the same, as Freya began to moan softly in response and her breathing began to quicken slightly. After touching up her ears, Elthin moved down to being to stimulate Freya's breasts. Her moans of pleasure became a little more pronounced as Elthin stimulated the erogenous zone of her breasts. Smaller breasts seemed more sensitive to stimulation than larger ones, as the nerve endings are closer to the surface.

Through the breaths of pleasure and ecstasy, Freya answered Elthin's statement.

"Mating with an Animalia is no different than mating with a human. We all share the same organs under the surface. Animalia just have a lower chance at bearing children from human seed, but the results can be quite excellent." Freya began to explain. "Teasing me so much before finally committing. I have to say, I have high hopes for you and your 'experience'."

While Elthin was stimulating Freya's hardened nipples, she began to kneel down once more, taking Elthin's erect penis in her hand before gently pulling back the foreskin, revealing the solid muscle underneath, and placing her lips around it. She then began to gently move her tongue around the rock-solid insemination organ, licking the opening to the urethra and sucking.

"Itsh sho mush better with a human." Freya mumbled through her blowjob.

Elthin wasn't about to rush things he was going to give. Freya all that she wanted he teased her ears and licked them with his tongue. Hearing her moan ment she liked it and as he fondled her breasts he leaned in. Licking both her nipples before placing his mouth over one breast and sucking it before moving to the other.

"I have enough kids in my life already that being Lucine and your friend. I don't need another one right now." Elthin said between breaths.

Feeling Freya lick his shaft Elthin could only moan in delight. He moaned a little louder then one should but he'd let her have her full. Pulling away for a moment Elthin laid down and mentioned for Freya to lay on top of him. With her private near his mouth Elthin went to work licking at the wet folds of Freya's moist pussy.

Elthin licked the velvety soft ears of Freya. They tasted faintly of sweet vanilla and strawberries. Perhaps her childish appearance bore more substance than her mature behaviour. Freya's body began to quiver with arousal as Elthin started to lick and suck on her erect nipples. They bounced playfully after every lick and seemed to wish to be drawn into Elthin's mouth when being sucked. Freya's carnal lust had overtaken all her rationality as she began to moan even louder in her euphoric state.

"Children are a handful, but they're worth the hassle." Freya answered when the teasing calmed down a little.

After Elthin had enough oral stimulation to his shaft, he decided to return the favour by partaking in cunnilingus. Freya didn't need a double offer, she quickly crawled over to Elthin's face and placed her nectar covered labia over his mouth. With each lick, and with each gasp of pleasure from Freya, her pussy got even wetter as more ejaculate covered her lips. Her body quivered in delight even more as the stimulation continued.

"You're...as good...as you...make out to be..." Freya panted.

"One has to be good at this one never knows when this will come up." Elthin said between breaths and moans of pleasure.

He brought his mouth over Freya's entire pussy and sucked on it like a lollipop. Before pushing his tongue in between the folds if her lips. Licking the insides like an ice cream he wanted them both to enjoy this.

As the oral stimulation continued, Freya's vulva opened out a little more, readily anticipating an connecting of the bodies, and her body became hotter. She was undoubtedly close to climaxing as her body convulsed slightly with every lick, suck and rimming of Elthin's tongue. Her tail and ears began to stand on end, preparing for the oncoming ejaculation.

"I can't...I'm gonna...I'm...ah!" Freya panted out as her vagina got hotter and hotter before gently pulsating with the stimulation. "If you...ah...you'd...better...ah!"

With one final moan of pure ecstasy, Freya's labia parted as a gush of pussy juices squirted out of her entrance, all over Elthin's face and his stimulating tongue. Two more squirts blasted out of her with a pair of accompanying gasps of pleasure before Freya's body went weak and she bent over slightly, panting from the triple orgasm.

Freya's juices licked onto Elthin's face as he pulled back for a moment to catch his breath. With all over Freya's own licking and sucking Elthin could only. Groan in delight as he felt himself drawing closer and closer to the edge.

"W-we a-are b-both!" Elthin gasped.

With a small grunt and a moan of ecstasy, Elthin had his own orgasm that was mixed. When Freya had hers drenching his face in her fluids. He shot his own load upon her face and into her mouth. If that was something she was into. He lay there panting trying to recatch his breath.

With both participants exhausted from their dual pleasuring, they simply just remained where they were to catch their breath. Freya had rolled herself off of Elthin to lie by his side as she cleaned the semen from her face and playfully flicked Elthin's retracting penis. When she'd caught her breath enough, Freya decided to engage in after-sex pillow talk.

"This should be enough to keep me rational for the next half-moon. I'm very grateful for you taking the risk of being caught just to sooth my own urges." Freya began. "I'm not one for being selfish so, if you ever need anything, just come and find me and I'll try and provide."

After a few more moments of silence, Freya began to voice her concern for Lucine.

"Lucine's requested the draught I prepare for Zena. I take it you know of her little nighttime plight?" Freya asked. "I think she's actually more insecure with this all than she's letting on. Doing something like that shortly after experiencing what she did is not uncommon. She's trying to put on a brave face to not worry you, I can tell. Girls are complicated. She's never openly voice her concerns, no matter how close you get to her. She doesn't want to seem too needy or demanding."

A few more quiet moments passed and Elthin caught his breath. He was able to move again just slowly at this time. "So, what does this make us now am I your mate or just someone you'd want to sleep with from time to time?" Elthin asked.

Silence came again before Freya spoke of Lucine.

"Yes, I know of it I just hope that this can help her. Seeing as how I don't know anything about her medical history I'm not sure on how things will really turn out."

Elthin asked what his relationship with Freya now was.

"You can be my Mate if you want. Most of the time, Animalia clear their heat urges by seeking out suitable animal Mates in the Pride Lands. We emit the same pheromones as the natural beasts we bear traits of during heat, so we attract animals as well as tailless ones. We can sooth our urges on both, but tailless ones keep them at bay for longer." Freya explained. "If we don't manage to find a suitable Mate, we can sooth our own urges for a day or two by engaging in self-pleasuring. For last ditch efforts, when self-pleasuring fails, we can try to engage in sexual activity with other Animalia. I remember one Mating Season when I tried to Mate with the Pack Mother. Thankfully, she was also seeking relief from the urges so she obliged."

Elthin voiced his own concerns for Lucine.

"It doesn't prevent the sensation, it just makes it a little more pronounced early enough for the signals to reach her mind and force her awake. Zena's had a few nights where she's even slept through the warning being sent from the draught. The idea of it is to wake the patient up an allow them enough time to reach somewhere to go before it all comes gushing out." Freya elaborated. "I'm actually the contact for the Elder. I've received his request for a new student physical examination and booked her in for two days time. You'll get a copy of the results as you're her legal guardian. There doesn't seem to be anything physically wrong with her, I think the problem lies with her emotional state."

Freya explained what this now made them both.

"I guess it couldn't hurt to be your mate does this come with any advantages?" Elthin asked. He was still thinking over what Freya had said.

He next listened as she spoke on Lucine.

"Well, she was scared of everything that had happened to her the other day. Plus along with all that she has learned and witnessed so far that could also help with hurting her emotional state. Yet if there is more to it then just those things I'll need to learn them as soon as possible."

Elthin seemed fine with being classed as Freya's 'Mate' and asked what kind of perks it might bring. Freya looked pleased with Elthin's acceptance.

"Being my Mate means that, during this Mating season, you'll be better favoured among the Animalia as you're assisting with he most problematic time for us. You'll also get unrestricted access to my delightful body and can also request that I help you when your own urges strike. I'm very experienced with tail masturbation and breast-jobs. They might be small, but they feel divine against a rock hard penis. I'm also no stranger to experimentation. I like the idea of coming up with new ways to engage in the joining of body for sexual pleasure." Freya explained.

More concerns about Lucine were voiced. They sounded just like a couple worrying about their child.

"She's also at a difficult time in her life. She's neither a child nor a teenager. She might be an early bloomer for all we know. She could already be experiencing the confusion and frustration that comes with hormonal imbalance and puberty." Freya suggested. "Mine are still quite young so I can't really use them for reference."

"Well, that's good as it cuts down on some of the work." Elthin said before Freya explained just what sort of things she was into. "At a later time I will see how you handle those things." Elthin said at last he got up and helped Freya up. "Anywhere we can clean up before rejoining the others?"

Freya spoke on Lucine again.

"You don't mean that Willow and Syl are your childern or are they related to you by other means?" Elthin asked.

Elthin sounded more than willing to test out Freya's claims. She simply giggled seductively as she licked the tip of Elthin's penis one final time to ingest the last few drops of semen.

"Man milk is good for developing bodies." Freya commented.

While they could lick one another clean with a good few hours, Elthin decided to rush the process along by asking for a place where he could clean up as he helped Freya to her feet.

"The bathroom's the first door you see on your right when you leave the Laboratory. It's close to Syl and Willow's bedroom, so don't go through the door one down from it." Freya explained. "Want to bathe together, or shall we go separately?"

Elthin was a little surprised by the terminology Freya used to describe Syl and Willow.

"I see them as my children and, on the genetic level, they are. They're not exactly what most would call 'Children', though." Freya vaguely explained. "What do you know of Animalian Alchemy Practices?"

As Freya licked his penis one last time Elthin kneeled down and used his fingers. To play with Freya's still moist pussy taking some of the juices. Now on his fingers he brought them to his mouth and licked them. "Tasty"

Freya then told him where te bathroom was. She then mentioned about bathing together. "Together for now." Elthin took her hand and they both entered the bathroom. Where while cleaning each other down they engaged in one more fun act of lewd sex before finally finishing things up and washing themselves down.

"I'm not very familiar with Animalian Alchemy Practices"

During the time when the pair was meant to be cooling down, things heated up a little more as both of them still had some juice waiting to be expelled. As Freya was huddled between Elthin's legs in the bath, her back pressing against his gradually flaccid privates, the pair continued their conversation from earlier, which was momentarily forgotten about due to lustful intentions.

"In order for us to create some of the Potions and Salves we can, we need something more attuned to nature to assist in mixing the reagents. Tailless ones and Animalia, while they are still children of the Earth Mother, have been gradually desensitised from the delicate anatomy of nature as technology and stoneworking became more popular." Freya began. "So, before any Shaman can be dubbed a Witch Doctor, they need to make their own being of living nature. The process requires a great deal of materials, each one linking up with what is present inside the human body, each in their exact amounts as they are found inside the body. Your Alchemists dub this forbidden art of Alchemy as 'Homunculi Construction'. The Tailless ones on Animalia see this as Heresy as we are artificially creating a life when only their so called Gods can do so."

After allowing the rundown to sink in, Freya explained just what Syl and Willow were.

"Syl and Willow are my Homunculi, borne from the base materials and a vial of my own blood, making them genetically locked to myself. I see them as my own children as I technically breathed life into them and they also share the same coding as myself from being made from my blood." Freya continued. "That large cylindrical device in the Alchemy Lab is what I used to create them in."

Elthin listened as Freya explained things.

"It all sounds rather far fetched if you ask me. I understand that everyone is trying to create life. But sometimes wouldn't that be going too far 'Homunculi Construction' When you think about it has it's uses but what if something were to go wrong. Like it being used for evil or someone trying to cheat death and transfer their soul into an immortal shell?" Elthin asked.

Freya then explained about Willow and Syl.

"Then you created them both through the means you mentioned earlier. And not through the normal everyday birthing means. How long does it normall take to make someone?"

Elthin gave his own opinion on Homunculi creation.

"It is needed for the most potent Animalia remedies. If we did not use the Earth Mother's gifts to create a completely natural being, free from the corruptions of development and selfishness, we would not be able to even begin to save as many people as we do with our Salves." Freya insisted. "The Animalia are not like some tailless ones. We do not seek to pervert the gifts provided for us by the Earth Mother. People cannot transfer their souls into a Homunculus, as each one is unique, with its own personalities, likes and dislikes. Two souls cannot live in the same body at the same time. They are like natural conceived children. They are, by no means, immortal. They can feel pain, suffering, joy, happiness...everything we can feel. They may live much longer than normal people, but they are still returned to the Earth Mother when their time is done."

Elthin asked about Syl and Willow and how long it takes to make a Homunculus.

"They are, indeed, created by myself, and not born to me naturally." Freya answered. "It takes a full cycle of the moon to prepare the Cylinder for use with all the materials in, and then it takes a further two moons to create the Homunculus."

"How many people have you saved so far?" Elthin asked.

Freya explained on how different the Animalia and the Tailess ones were. They were trying to save the lives of everyone they could and she explained her thoughts on matters.

"There have been some cases in a small transfer of the soul in a Homunculus body. But those are all forbidden and locked away in Vaults in the Capital."

Lucine explained about Syl and Willow.

"Are you trying to create any others at the moment?" Elthin asked.

"Countless people. Whole villages of people." Freya answered in regards to her triage acts.

Elthin explained that, in some extremely rare occasions, people have managed to transfer parts of their soul into Homunculus bodies.

"Then they have even perverted a wholly natural being." Freya quietly answered, sounding quite angry at the destruction of the Earth Mother's gifts.

After the awkward talk about Homunculi, Elthin asked if Freya was making any more at the moment.

"Syl and Willow are enough for me. I don't need any more, and I won't make any more. Willow was just lonely when I was working, so I created her a playmate. Now that they have Lucine, everyone will not be lonely again," Freya answered.

While Elthin would have gladly talked to Freya more about Homunculus's he decided. To change the subject after starting to dry himself off.

"But what about yourself sure you've got both of them. But have you ever felt lonely say for someone your own age?" Elthin asked.

As the pair began to dry themselves off after a good soak, Elthin asked if Freya ever felt lonely.

"With how needy little Syl is, and how inquisitive Willow is, I've not had the time to feel lonely as I've always had something to do." Freya answered. "Though, you've more than likely filled any pang of loneliness I may feel in the future."

Freya then went over to Elthin and gave him a hug, resting her damp head over his chest.

"Lucine needs some friends as well. Why don't we spend some more time together later?"

Freya told him about her needs.

She then came over and gave him a hug which was surprising him. He gave her a hug back in return.

"If you want to I have no problem with that."

After hugging for a few more moments Elthin let Freya go and started to redress himself.

After the embrace between the young lovers(?), the pair began to get dressed once more after drying off. Freya's outfit was on in a flash, pretty much how fast it came off as well, and she didn't appear to have any form of underwear on underneath the loin wrap she had. Going commando was probably an Animalian thing. Freya then began to head out of the bathroom, stopping by the door to say one last thing.

"We've been 'talking' for quite some time. Don't you think the others will get a little curious?" Freya posed with a sly smile. "You better have a cover story ready, or you might face a feisty preteen's wrath."

Freya then left Elthin to finish up. It was probably her plan to make it seem less like they were doing some explicit.

Once fully dressed again Elthin followed Freya out of the bathroom. "I'm sure they will ask us something I can think of something which shouldn't let them know what we did." Elthin says.

He took the time when alone to come up with a plan. After some time something popped into her mind and he rejoined Freya and the others.

Upon the arrival of the pair from the back room, Lucine was the first to chip in with wanting an explanation.

"Took your time." Lucine started as she gave an accusatory look at Elthin. "I was beginning to think you'd taken Freya up on her bedroom services."

"P-Please excuse me!" Sly quickly cut in as she began to quickly run out of the room with a hand pressed against the lower half of her skirt.

"You were both in the bathroom." Lucine continued. "Syl tried to go earlier but the door was locked and she couldn't find either of you. Mind explaining what you were doing?"

"We were just talking about what I had learned at the taverns nothing more," Elthin tells her. He then sees as Syl run past with a hand between her legs. "I was helping in cleaning the bathroom as Freya wanted some help sorry we took so long."

Lucine was not buying it.

"Oh sure." She answered sarcastically. "It took ya nearly an hour ta 'talk' an' another half hour ta 'clean'."

Lucine's slum dialect was slipping in once more, indicating that her cool composure was cracking.

"I had him help me a little with your special request." Freya cut in with a smile. "He was very curious of all the items on the list turning up, even after Zena had gone home."

Freya's interjection caused a stifled gasp from Lucine, shutting her up there and then.

Lucine didn't seem to buy it.

Freya then spoke up which caused Lucine to shut up.

"Yeah, we worked long and hard on it. Hopefully this time things will work out better for you."

Lucine just simply looked down, face deep red with embarrassment, and simply nodded, letting out a small confirmation sound while doing so.

"You've really got to hide things better." Freya informed Lucine. "He's known, and I've known, since we first saw you today. Maybe Syl can teach you some tricks?"

"Sis!" Willow cut in. "Don't embarrass Syl just 'cause she's not here."

"I'm sorry, Willow, but Lucine needs to understand that it's not something to be that embarrassed about." Freya answered.

"Zena can also help in matters try talking with her as well" Elthin said.

He then could see Lucine's embarrassment and didn't speak of her matter any more. "How about we all get something to eat?" Elthin suggested.

"However, getting a straight word out of her and not 'Azure Princess' will be difficult." Freya interjected with a nod.

As Lucine's embarrassment was just mounting, Elthin decided to change the subject and offer for some food. Syl just returned from the back room, with a contented look on her face.

"Just made it..." She quietly whispered to herself. She then noticed Elthin and ducked behind Willow once more.

"Is that offer for all of us?" Freya asked. "I know of a good eatery in the Merchant's quarters."

Freya wanted to know if the food offer was for them all.

"Yeah, it is" Elthin told them.

He saw as Syl run behind Willow again.

"Anything that you'd like to eat?" Elthin asked her.

"Then I propose we all get to know one another better." Freya concluded.

Seeing as how Syl was still like a frightened doe in the presence of Elthin, he asked her if she had anything she wanted to eat. Silence followed a little as the small silver folds of her dress shuffled from side to side before the petite girl peered out from behind Willow.

"Tomato and Basil soup, with croutons and Pasta." Syl answered before ducking behind Willow once more. It may have only been a food order, but it was a start.

This would give everyone time to get to know each other better. Syl this time spoke up about what she wanted to eat.

"Then let's get you that" Elthin smiled at her.

He looked over at Lucine "did you have fun with the girl's while we were gone?" Elthin asked.

Elthin confirmed the food order, which prompted a smile from Syl. She also let out a happy quiet giggle, like the kind young children do when they're praised.

Elthin then asked if Lucine had fun with the girls.

"We talked a little more, yeah. And I also learned quite a lot about Syl's likes and dislikes." Lucine answered, she then moved in closer to Elthin to whisper something to him. "What she just asked for is her absolute favourite food. Provide what she wants and she'll like you more."

"What else does she like?" E;thin whispered back.

He looked to Syl.

"Anything you want as something sweet after?" He asked.

"Why not ask and find out." Lucine chuckled quietly.

Elthin then asked if Syl wanted something sweet after the starter. The usual pattern from before ensued.

"Raspberry Tarte, with white chocolate curls and sprinkles." Syl answered before hiding once more.

"Why're you asking Syl what she wants and not me?" Willow asked with a pout.

"Someone's getting jealous." Freya countered with a smile.

"Am not." Willow shot back, pouting some more.

Elthin took Lucine's advice and Syl spoke up more on food.

"Just making small talk about what do you want to eat?" Elthin asked Willow.

He laughed a little at Freya's remark.

Upon getting the attention for once, Willow was left to give into her 'tsun' side as she blushed slightly and turned a little to the side from Elthin before softly giving her order.

"Continental salad, with a fruit salad for dessert. Extra mangoes and cherries. With whipped cream on the top." Willow answered.

"Then those are what you shall have" Elthin told her.

The group soon left and headed out to eat. Just to be on the fun side Elthin looked over to Lucine and pinched her rear and then pinched Freya's as well.

Elthin decided to agree to Willow's food order without considering how difficult it would be to get fruits like she requested, and the things in the Salad, in the middle of a desert. Potentially, both of the girl's orders were on the pricey side due to the kind of ingredients needed to make them, but...

After food orders were decided, Elthin headed out to the Eatery Freya mentioned. On the way, he decided to have a little perverted fun with both Lucine and Freya. The rear pinching was not well received by Lucine, who turned her head towards Elthin with a rather sour look on her face and mouthed 'Perv'. Freya on the other hand, simply returned the favor by squeezing Elthin's flaccid member a little.

Lucine didn't seem to enjoy Elthin's pinching at all and gave him a sour look. Freya seemed to enjoy it and touched his member which responded to her touch. Becoming slightly aroused he cupped Freya's own mound to return the favor.

When the lewd fun was over, Elthin for a small while pictured what it would be like to have a family he had never really given it much thought before. And while he didn't want any sort of kids yet in his life he wondered if it would be a good choice to make one day.

After the afterplay, Elthin's thoughts turned to a more family oriented direction. While he was picturing a future which he'd never really given much thought to before, he had a curious onlooker peering out from the side of Lucine. Syl had dropped back a little from her slight lead with Willow and turned her attention to something that had been bothering her since the encounter after the 'Secret Fun'. All she was doing at present was looking curiously at Elthin and occasionally sniffling a little, like a baby animal picking up on a familiar scent.

Elthin thought on a family life for a short while longer. He thought if Freya would make a good wife, would she have a boy or a girl if she gave birth to someone. Or would she rather create another being like Willow or Syl. These were all questions he didn't have the answers for. His thoughts returned to the present and the group. Seemed to be the center of attention with everyone looking at him.

"What is it?" Elthin asked.

Elthin was pulled from his daydreaming by Syl's curious gaze.

"You smell like Sis." Syl answered as she pulled a little closer to Elthin and began to sniff him like she was picking up a scent. "You didn't smell like Sis before. You didn't walk with Sis before. What did you do with Sis?"

For once, Syl was not hiding whole talking to Ethin. She had now dropped back to his position and began her grilling.

Syl started to sniff Elthin.

Elthin was at a loss for words at the moment as Syl wanted to know what he and Freya did. While they were alone together.

"Don't you remember what we were doing it was all explained before?" Elthin asked.

Elthin tried once more to blag his way out of the indication of elicit and explicit material. However, Syl had a sharp mind and wasn't really falling for it. After all, she was partially created from the blood of a person with animalistic qualities. Her sense of smell was possibly second only to the real animal.

"That wouldn't make you smell of Sis. You'd smell of herbs and stuff. Sis doesn't smell like herbs. Sis smells different." Syl retorted. "You'd only smell like Sis if she rubbed her scent on you."

Syl had a sharp mind and didn't seem to believe what Elthin told her.

"Well we did bump against each other while working. So of course Freya's scent would get upon me as we did bump arms against each other a couple of times."

Elthin tried to change his story to fit along the girl's probing ability to literally sniff out lies. Despite the slight change, Syl still didn't believe Elthin.

"You lie a lot, Mister." Syl answered with an accusatory look. "Bumping up against Sis isn't the same as Sis rubbing her scent on you. Sis rubbed her scent on you a lot and that's why you smell like Sis. Lying is bad, Mister, you shouldn't lie."

Syl still didn't believe Elthin.

While he didn't want to tell everyone what he had done with Freya. He looked over at her "some help please?" Elthin asked.

Elthin was at a loss for how to explain the acts of carnal desire he performed on such a young girl's primary care giver. He turned to Freya and asked for assistance. Thankfully, Freya had an answer.

"We just hugged, that's all." Freya answered. She then crouched down to hug Syl as an example. "Hugs make everyone feel better and it's a sign of friendship as well. Hugs mean that we need to get close to one another to do them, and push our scents onto each other as well. That's why he smells like me."

Syl understood Freya's explanation well and hugged her in return with a smile on her face. Once the hug was done, Syl still hadn't finished with Elthin.

"Why'd you lie about a hug, Mister?" Syl asked Elthin. "Hugs aren't bad. Don't you like hugs? Don't you like Sis?"

Freya went on to help Elthin who didn't know how to handle things.

"Not really sure I didn't think of ever mentioning that we hugged," Elthin said seeing Freya move over and hug Syl. "Everyone likes hugs, as for liking your Sis I would say I'm warming up to her so, liking her, yes I do like her."

He then went over and hugged Freya.

Elthin tried to use Freya's prompt as grounds to work off to get Syl off his back, even go as far as hugging Freya to show that it was something he would do. of course, Freya returned the gesture to add further credibility to their statements. Syl's curiosity seemed sated, for now.

"Zena told me boys don't like talking about hugs." Syl answered. "Is that why you didn't talk about it?"

Syl was still questioned him about hugs.

"It's not something that I normally talk about as I don't do it often," Elthin said. As he wasn't really much of a hugger but things could always change. He went over and hugged Syl then Willow and last Lucine.

Elthin explained his reasoning and gave unexpected hugs to the other girls present. Syl flinched a little, and so did Willow, when the initial contact was made but, due to Freya's scent being on Elthin, they didn't try to pull away. Lucine, on the other hand, was a little more interested in food.

"Not to break up this little hug fest, but I'm really hungry. Can we, I don't know, get some food already?" Lucine commented, while being hugged. "Also, being hugged randomly like this out in the open is a little creepy."

"Okay, okay let's get your food" Elthin told her.

He had all but stopped hugging everyone and started walking towards the restaurant once more.

Thankfully, Lucine's intervention restored the original goal of the outing.

The group made their way into the section of the Merchant's District closest to the Noble's district. The usual street vendors were all but present in this section as fancy buildings lined the streets. Elthin and Lucine were both familiar with this section, as this is where the Clothes shop Elthin visited was located. Going a little further in, they came across a large exquisite restaurant, with row upon row of fancy tables outside of it. It had a corner dedicated to it and it alone as no other shop could fit in due to the sheer size of the place. Any meal here would obviously be as expensive as the decor looked, and that was saying something.

"This is the place." Freya commented.

"Whoa..." Lucine sighed in amazement.

The group reached the Merchant's District and this was an area which Elthin. Was familiar with as he and Lucine had been here before as they were walking towards the large exquisite restaurant. Elthin did a sweep of the area with his eyes. Just scanning everyone there to see if they weren't being watched or followed. He didn't want Zena running out in the open again and having another episode with her. After he was done looking around they reached the area.

"This will be expensive."

Elthin let his paranoia show again when they reached the Restaurant. However, it was just a false alarm. All that was around, aside from the usual hustle and bustle, were a few chickens and camels milling about.

Elthin could probably feel his money slipping away as he looked upon the grand place.

"Perfect place for a first date." Freya answered with a wink so only Elthin could hear.

"Too many people." Syl commented as she returned to hiding behind Willow, whom was now hiding behind Lucine.

"Guess Big Sis has to lead the flock." Lucine sighed. "Compared to the Slums, this is just a light Market day."

Everything was calm so he gave up looking around.

"We will have to talk about that later" He whispered back to Freya.

Syl and Willow hid behind Lucine.

"Let's all go in?" Elthin started walking forwards.

Elthin decided that waiting around will get them nowhere so he lead the charge into the Restaurant, with the others following behind.

The inside looked as extravagant as the outside did, with gilded gold leaf tables, inset with small uncharged elemental stones, and golden chandeliers on the ceiling, filled with only the highest quality fire Elemental stones to provide the perfect level of ambient light and heat for the customers. The inside was not as busy as the outside, probably because the weather was good, so there were a few seats available.

Following the red carpet draped across the floor, Elthin reached the counter, where a well dressed and extremely well groomed Waiter stood.

"Welcome to 'The Master's Treasure Trove' diner." The Waiter began, sounding just as pretentious as the decor. "What shall your order be?"

The group walked inside of the Restaurant and looked around at everything inside. Before they reached the counter and a well groomed Waiter stood.

Elthin was the first to speak telling the Waiter both Willow's and Syl's orders. He wasn't sure on what Freya or Lucine wanted letting alone himself. "What would you recommend to a first timer here?" Elthin asked.

Elthin explained the orders from Willow and Syl and requested what would be recommended for a first timer.

"Menus are at the table. We don't offer recommendations as that is not our service. Customer come here knowing what they want, normally." The Waiter answered.

"Where's the menu?!" Lucine cut in, practically begging for the food to be given to her now.

"Menus are on the table." The Waiter repeated, sounding a little put off by having to do so. "Orders are also given at the tables. I'm nothing more than the face of the business."

"May you please lead us to a free table?" Freya requested, sounding use to coming here.

"Right this way, Sir, Madams." The Waiter answered as he led them to a free table near the entrance to the establishment. "Please peruse the foods on offer and raise your hand when you have all decided."

The group took their seats at one of the near-by tables and Elthin picked up a Menu. Elthin opened the Menu and took a look at what was listed inside. He was at a loss on what he wanted to eat he read over everything slowly several times as Freya and Lucine. Looked over their Menu's Lucine seemed to have a hard time picking something out since she couldn't read what was written.

"What would be good for Lucine here?" Elthin asked.

After assuring that all the customers were seated, the Waiter went back to the front desk, leaving the group to ponder their own choices.

Despite Lucine's lack of reading ability, she was still slightly drooling over the pretty pictures inside the menu, going more on the appearance of the meal than the information written about it. Freya was slowly perusing the stuff on offer, making out to be indecisive but mostly focusing on the 'Spicy' section. Syl and Willow were looking the the desserts with Lucine and talking about their favourites.

"It depends on what kind of food she likes." Freya answered. "If she likes spicy things, then I recommend the 'Dragonfire Chilies' platter. However, that is the spiciest thing on the menu. They always serve a bucket of water with it. Though, I don't really think it's that hot."

"If she likes the more sublime tastes, then the Garlic and Lemongrass Korma would be more for her. It's a mixture of mild heat, tangy lemon flavour and the cooling taste of Garlic. If she's basic in tastes, then you can't go wrong with a Pizza. They've a lot of options, including a Dragonfire chilli' Pizza, though it's just as hot as the platter."

"As for desserts, I think the girls are helping her decide."

Elthin looked around at the group seeing what everyone was doing before Freya spoke up.

"Lucine what is it that you would like to try?" Elthin asked. Seeing as how she was drooling over what she was seeing. Elthin had already picked out what he wanted. He would try the 'Dragonfire Chilies' platter which was sure to be both tasty and hot.

"All of it." Lucine answered vaguely. "I wanna try everything. It all looks so nice!"

"You'd never eat everything here. The Dragonfire stuff is far too hot for anyone but a Dragon to eat." Willow cut in.

"Dragonfire stuff is too hot. I like the Korma." Syl interjected.

"Spices are for adults, after all. Sweets are more child-friendly." Freya commented, acting like a parent once more.

Just by looking at the prices in the menu, Elthin was probably going to have to burn through most of his active money to afford the stuff. The prices were as ludicrous as the decor. It would be not too far from the truth to think that the golden decor is made from real gold coins melted down.

Lucine wished to try everything and if she did that would bankrupt Elthin.

"Let her try whatever she likes and go from there just as long as it's not a whole lot." Elthin added in. He was overlooking the prices for the meals and everything was 'INDEED' expensive all his pocket money would be spent.

"Then I'll go for the Garlic and Lemongrass Korma." Lucine decided. "Syl says its a nice tasting dish and Willow also agrees."

"It's tasty and has a nice aroma." Willow answered with a confirming nod.

"The chicken is so very tender and the Lemongrass helps keep you healthy." Syl commented.

Everyone seemed decided on their meals.

"I think we're all ready to order mains. We just need to decide dessert and drinks." Freya informed the group. "Children, stay away from the wines menu."

The meals were all decided on and it was now time for desserts and drinks.

"We already know what Willow and Syl wanted for dessert, that just leaves me, Lucine and you to pick out what we want. As for drinks one of the wines would be nice."

Adding the prices of all of the segments of the meal together would result in a very sad wallet. Thankfully, they had some promotional offers on for family dining. The deal included a full 3 course meal for a family of five, unlimited drinks for children and a bottle of Wine to share between the parents. It'll cost a little more than buying the meals and drinks separately, but it's overall much cheaper if a full meal is what people are going for. Also, it won't break the bank, which is also a plus. The only downside is that it's meant for lovers with their children.

"I want a Cherry and Vanilla parfait!" Lucine interjected. "For drinks, I'll just have the same as the others."

"If we're going for the deal, we may as well pick a dessert to share." Freya suggested to Elthin. "Let the children have their singles and we'll share a bowl of something."

As things went Elthin would have a sad wallet in the future. But seeing as how there were promotional offers going on. Elthin decided on going for the full 3-course meal as it fit with the number of people on hand in their small group.

"The deal is what sounds like the best, as what we can share how about some chocolate pudding?" Elthin asked.

Elthin possibly didn't read the fine print of the Meal offer.

"It's meant for Lovers, and chocolate pudding is a single dessert." Freya answered with a slight smile. "We'll need to look in another Menu to find the desserts suited to this deal."

Freya pulled out another menu which, while looking as bland as the others, bore some suggestive pictures and font text. It was clearly meant to people on their dinner dates due to the kinds of things inside.

"We could go for the Banana Boat Sundae." Freya suggested. "A whole banana cut in half down the middle length wise and filled with ice cream, chocolate sauce and cherries."

Freya pulled out another menu that looked as bland as the others. It looked to be a rather suggestive one due to the pictures on it. He then listened on what Freya suggested,

"Sounds like something we can both enjoy."

"In more ways than just food." Freya adds with a suggestive wink. "I think that's a definite one, then. As for Wines, are you more of a Red or White kind of person?"

"I prefer both actually so we can do both unless you'd only want to try to White kind?" Elthin asked.

"We get one bottle. White's a little stronger than Red." Freya answered. "'I've still got some work to do when we're done so I don't want something too strong."

"Then Red it will be than" Elthin replied. Once everything with drinks and desserts were all finished. They placed their orders and waited on the meals to arrive.

Meals, drinks and desserts were decided. The universal starter, which Freya picked out, were Garlic Bread slices with cheese topping. At present, food orders will take around 15-20 minutes to prepare, leaving a good deal of time to talk or do other things. The wine Bottle was provided, along with a pair of wine glasses, a little after the order was placed. Small children's drink glasses were given to the younger diners as Willow was the first to offer to do drinks rounds for the trio, leaving Lucine and Syl at the table for now.

During the time it would take for the meals to arrive Elthin used this time. To try and bond with the girls he asked some everyday questions like likes and dislikes. How they were enjoying the town they lived in a present and teased Lucine asked if she ever had a crush on anyone before. Or at least tried to tease her.

The usual dinner conversations went around, leaving Willow to join in when she returned with three glasses of a bubbly drink for the younger trio. Lucine, in response to Elthin's potential tease, was actually quite calculated in her response. Slum life probably forced people to grow up quicker. Lucine neither agreed nor denied the query,

As expected, Syl was mostly reserved with her conversations, only answering when talked to directly and giving as little answer as possible. Willow, while being a little more talkative, was still quite quiet. Freya just engaged in conversation where appropriate, asking if Elthin had any hobbies other than ruins exploration and what his lesson plans were for Lucine.

Elthin answered Freya's questions to him with the best of his ability.

He told her that he liked to study history and studied at the school 'Ezodora' that specializes in the teaching of ancient history and knowledge of the planet. He also told her that he liked to travel not just because of ruins exploration but also. As a means of seeing the world he had already traveled mostly on Artaria but wished to further his travels on Perriseth along with visiting Elenveir. He also mentioned that he was a collecter and liked to collect various things on his travels like art for one.

Freya and the others listened intently as Elthin explained his hobbies, prompting a similar response from Willow, whom the Bubbly drink was probably affecting slightly.

Willow's hobbies consisted of Flower collecting and studying insects and their effects on the plant economy. She mentioned that she has a small Ladybird farm in her bedroom near the window. She explained that she collects Ladybirds who look a little lost in the window boxes around the City and takes them home to a nice greenery filled home in her bedroom. Her study of Ladybirds has actually come across really well, and they also help with cultivating the herbs as they keep Aphids off them.

Elthin listened intently as Willow explained her hobbies.

As he was listened he thought on something to ask her. He asked if given the chance if she'd be willing to travel with him along with Freya and Syl, Lucine included to one of the many desert osais located around the city. It would give her a chance to look for any new Ladybirds if she had not found any new ones yet.

Elthin offered the opportunity for Willow to travel with him and see the outside world. As expected, Willow was tentative for such a grand venture. However, the thought of finding new and interesting insects had taken her interest. Freya was a little against it due to the dangers involved in the idea, not only from the residents of the desert. Syl was against it. Perhaps she wasn't close enough with Elthin to agree such a thing?

Willow was all for going on the grand venture. But Freya and Syl were both against the idea. Freya gave her reasons due to the dangers involved around the area. So Elthin in the end decided against the venture and instead asked if Willow would allow him to see some of her Ladybirds. He then turned to Syl and asked what she liked to do?

Elthin decided against taking the younger children out on his excursions due to the dangers involved and the cautioning from Freya. His next request was to see Willow's bug collection. She dithered on the idea a little before agreeing, if only for a quick peek.

Elthin then began to grill Syl for her likes, but didn't get very far. She mainly kept quiet and answered with non-verbal cues, like shaking her head or nodding it. Elthin wasn't going to get an answer unless he posed the question and it could be answered by a simple shake or nod of the head.

Willow agreed to let Elthin see her bug collection if only for a few moments. As for Syl when he question her she was mostly quiet he had to try a different method of getting. Answers out of her so he tried something like this.

"Do, you wish to see your homeland again?"

Elthin continued to try and coax answers out of Syl. His first question, however, seemed to confuse her enough to get her to speak.

"This is my home." Syl answered, looking quite confused.

Syl seemed confused.

"I don't mean here I mean where Freya comes from her homeland?" Elthin asked.

Even after Elthin explained, Syl was still quite confused before finally catching on to what he was talking about. She giggled a little before answering.

"You're a silly person." Syl answered. "I was born here, so this is my Homeland. I've never been to Sis's Homeland."

"I wasn't trying to be a silly person Syl" Elthin says. As it took Syl a while to catch on to what Elthin had said.

"Do, you like Willow's Ladybirds?"

Deciding to not argue with a child, who'll more than likely win by default, Elthin changed his question.

"Yeah, as long as they're not crawling on me." Syl answered. "They feel all weird. I really really hate the eight-legged things she has tucked away in a separate box."

"Do, you like trying out new things like making friends with me and Lucine here?" Elthin asked.

Elthin's next question was a little personal.

"I'm not quite sure I want to answer that. I don't want to upset anybody." Syl answered, sounding a little apprehensive.

Syl didn't want to answer Elthin's next question because it might be a little personal.

"Okay, do you like day time or night time?" Elthin asked.

Elthin changed his question to a more general one.

"Day time. Willow's the opposite, though." Syl answered. "I like the sun shining on the world. Willow is more for finding all the creepiest bugs at night."

Elthin was about to ask Syl another question when the meals started to arrive. Each of the members at the table took theirs and started to dig in.

Questioning was stopped as the food finally arrived. The aromas of the meals hinted at the exceptional quality of the ingredients used to make them. The Dragonfire chilli platters looked similar to an extremely hot curry, with a deep red texture to them. They were served on a bed of fluffy white rice.

The Korma which Lucine requested bore a mild greenish tinge to it due to the Garlic and Lemongrass used in the production of the meal. It carried a pleasant soft lemon scent to it. Like the Dragonfire chillies, it was served on a bed of rice, yellow rice this time.

The soup which Syl ordered carried a enticing basil scent to it, drawing those in around to just catch a slight sniff of such a tantalising aroma. The salad that Willow had was much like most salads, plain and healthy with a slight attraction to it. The crispiness of the lettuce made it look like it was freshly picked just before the meal was served.

Elthin's own mouth was watering as the food arrived. He looked over the Dragonfire chilli and took his plate just looking at the meal before him was exciting. Using his spoon he decided to give it a try taking a small amount onto his spoon he placed some of the chilli into his mouth. Then swallowed it down only to have his mouth turn on fire. The chilli tasted great and Elthin had to drink some of the wine to try and cool his mouth down.

A burning mouth is an understatement for the effects of the Dragonfire chilies. Like the ghost peppers of the past, Dragonfire chillies not only cause mouth distress, it makes the eater's body feel like its on fire, burning away at every nerve ending but not causing enough pain to initiate the body's natural pain relief mechanisms. The fires of the chilli were only the beginning of it all.

"They give you loads of rice so you can take your time with it." Freya informed Elthin. "Take a small amount of the chillies and sauce and fill the rest of your spoon with rice. The rice will absorb most of the heat."

Freya then gave a demonstration of her explanation, taking the smallest of chilli sauce and a whole load of rice, wrapping the copper piece sized speck of sauce, before placing it in her mouth. She didn't seem to show any signs of usual chilli distress, so maybe it'll work.

Elthin thought only his mouth would feel hot. But his whole body was soon aflame with the heat the chilli gave off. He actually started to sweat then and there. "I.. I'll do that" Elthin said between gasps of air and drink. He then followed Freya's example and did as she did taking some of the chilli and mixing it with some of the rice. Elthin then placed it into his mouth and swallowed it down.

Freya's trick did help to reduce the heat of the chillies to an edible level, but the fires still burned hot. As their name suggested, these were probably the hottest chillies available. The rice helped to cool them down to a level so discomfort was not actively felt, but it would possibly be better to pace the meal. One mouthful of water after every spoonful should help.

Lucine just looked at Elthin's plight with a smile on her face.

"Hot enough for you?" Lucine asked.

Freya's trick helped out a little though things were still indeed hot. Drinking water after a bite would be the best bet. Lucine them seemed to notice Elthin's plight.

"Yes, it is want to try some?" Elthin offered.

"I'll pass." Lucine chuckled back. "I don't want my mouth to be like the Desert, after all. I like being able to taste things."

Even while drinking the water, wine and any other liquid he could fine, Elthin could still taste the burning chillies in his mouth. Thankfully, they had a rather nice taste, if then heat wasn't so powerful. They could make a nice seasoning to a hot meal if only one was used.

Lucine wanted to pass on the idea of trying the chilli.

"Oh, come on why not just give it a try, it would make me very happy?" Elthin asked.

If Lucine didn;t agree to try it out he'd try and find some sort of way. To get her to try it out just to see for himself if she liked it or not.

"No gonna happen, sorry." Lucine insisted. "After all, we've still got dessert to eat once we're done with these."

"It sounds to me like you are a chicken?" Elthin says. Laughing a little he was just trying to joke around with Lucine nothing more nor was he trying to hurt her feelings at all.

"Better to be a chicken than a torch." Lucine countered. "Both rings will burn later, mark my words."

Taunting wasn't the way to get Lucine to try the chillies. She wasn't easy enough to bait to something so obviously dangerous.

Elthin had one way to try and get Lucine to try them. But that was a last resort so, he tried a different way,

"I bet Zena loves to try these and she has them all the time."

Elthin tried the one tactic which works on mostly really young children. Lucine just looked very unimpressed by the desperate attempt at getting her to try the fires of hell in material form.

"Doubt it." Lucine monotonously replied. "Anyway, why'd you want me to eat them anyway? You're not hoping for some perverse outcome, are you? You sound as desperate as a virgin in a brothel."

"What's a Bro-" Syl started, before her mouth was covered by Freya.

"You don't need to know that." Freya quickly interjected.

"What's a Virgin?" Willow questioned.

Lucine seemed to take what Elthin had said way over her head.

"Something, not important at the moment, and where did this come from. All of a sudden you make it sound like I'd want to sleep with you at some point. Or you'd willing come to the brothel that I secretly own 'lie'.

Elthin tried to put across a counter argument, which just seemed to make Lucine's mood a lot worse.

"You're just like the others." Lucine huffed. "Act all sweet and then fuck us all over. I want to eat in peace without having you pestering me to eat something I don't want to eat. If you don't shut up soon, then you'll be eating your own words, and I hope they burn as hot as the Chillies.

"Is that all you care about is getting fucked over. Gee I try and joke around with you and you blow up like you usually do." Elthin told her. Before he went back to eating his Chillies in peace he looked around for a glass of water.

"People, please!" Freya cut in in a demanding tone. "We came her for a nice pleasant meal. We shouldn't be using such language in front of the children."

Willow and Syl were still puzzling over their unanswered questions, and Syl was a little more like her old self around Elthin after that display, trying her best to not make eye contact or communicate with him.

Elthin found the glass of water and part of him thought of throwing it at Lucine. But he didn't just went along with drinking some water after eating his food.

The once jovial meal now seemed quite tense. Everyone, instead of engaging in the conversations they were, were now eating in dead silence.

The meal time now seemed very boring since Lucine had ruined it. "So, where do we go from here?" Elthin asked. Trying to break the silence for the first time in a few minutes.

"We continue in silence." Lucine countered.

"Talking just seems to lead to arguments between you two, so by all means, continue. However, if you do, please don't ruin the meal." Freya replied.

"I don't like silence." Willow commented. "I'd rather have us talking, but Elthin's being mean to Lu."

"I didn't do anything it was her own fault for blowing up like she always does." Elthin tried to defend himself. They were both at fault Lucine and himself and they needed to work out there troubles here and now,

"You tried to get her to eat the hot things." Willow defended Lucine. "Lu didn't want to eat them, and she even said she didn't, yet you tried to get her to."

Willow wasn't lecturing Elthin, she was just doing a usual child's questioning and thought processing.

Willow was questioning in what Elthin had done.

"I wanted to see if she'd try it out nothing more, because I wanted to see how she'd. Handle to hotness from these things."

"You'd put Lu through so much just 'cos you wanna know what she'll do?" Willow asked, not quite understanding what joy could come from seeing someone else suffer. "Do you want Lu to have a stomachache for the rest of the day?"

"No I don't want to see that happen, are you not going to question here next as well?" Elthin asked.

"No." Willow answered simply. "Lu's had a hard life already. I don't wanna make it any worse. She's not a bad girl, she's actually really nice."

"Lu, is nice when she wants to me and hard at times when she wishes to be." Elthin turned to her. 'Sorry for making you try and eat something you didn't want to"

Elthin, with the pure words of a child's feelings, decided to reconcile with Lucine. At first, she simply huffed in anger and turned away, until Willow's pureness won her over.

"I guess I can accept it." Lucine answered. "But only because Willow wanted me to." She added in the end a little too quickly to be truthful.

Elthin took Lucine's apologie and said nothing more on the matter. He had now finished up with his rice and chilli. Though his mouth was still offly hot and had to drink several glasses of water to try and cool it down.

Due to the innocence and purity of a child, the argument seemed to have dissipated. The main course was swiftly finished off, and now there was another space while dessert was being prepared.

While dessert was being prepared Elthin asked the others what their plans. Were for the following day this was mainly directed towards Freya, Syl and Willow.

Small talk resumed and now it was about plans for later.

Freya, Syl and Willow still had to work on some Alchemical orders before they could close shop in the evening. Freya also pointed out that she still had to prepare the Apothecary for Lucine's medical examination, as she still had to kit the Laboratory out with the right tools and furnishings.

Small talk was in fact small talk.

At one point in the small talk Elthin turned the topic to Freya. "Have you ever visited Artaria before or wish to know anything about it?" Elthin asked.

Elthin decided to probe a very specific question to Freya.

"Animalia do not tend to travel far away from the Pride Lands. My circumstances are rather...unique for an Animalia and that's why I've set up shop here in Brascus. Animalian knowledge of the world is limited to just Drakmar, I don't know anything about any other place aside from Argenta and Brascus."

Freya was limited on what she knew about places around the world.

"That's too bad, while I can see that most Animalia don't travel far. Argenta is still a far nice place to visit, other than the snow there are many places worth visiting like Klokirq Forest for example."

Elthin explained about Artaria and the points of interest on it.

"I'm more suited to warmer places than cold ones. I'll have to wrap up in many furs to keep warm there." Freya commented. "Drakmar is quite humid due to the surrounding forests and the Pride Lands, and Perriseth is, as you know, nice and warm. Syl's also not fond of the cold, and would likely try to snuggle up under as many blankets as she could."

"I could find other ways to keep you warm." Elthin said. As he turned the conversation to a personal matter for a moment. Then changed it back just as quickly, "Are there any interesting places on Drakmar where one can visit like a city or location?" Elthin asked.

Elthin's suggestion turned the conversation a little too adult oriented for Freya's liking while the children were present.

"We'd have to be alone for that to work, though." Freya answered while Lucine shot a rather dirty look to Elthin. Both Syl and Willow were blissfully ignorant of the implied suggestion.

"The only real place of note are the Pride Lands." Freya replied. "There are the Fang Mountains behind the Pride Lands, but we do not tread there as they're believed to be Sacred Grounds. We have sent scouts there before, and they've come back with rather large bones and Egg Shells. However, those were only the lucky scouts. Most we send there never come back, so we believe the Earth Mother does not wish for us to go there."

Elthin ignored Lucine's dirty look.

"Scared Grounds, I take their is something special about that area. As this would be the first I've heard about the Fang Mountains." Elthin decided to turn the topic to another matter. "Have you ever met Arch Mage Yessan before?"

Elthin's next topic of questioning was on important people meeting.

"I have been graced with his presence before." Freya answered. "Why ask?"

Freya had met him before.

"I'm interested in learning about him, like for example what are your thoughts about him?" Elthin asked.

Elthin asked what Freya's opinions of the Archmage were.

"He seems indecisive and too hesitant." Freya answered matter of factly. "He listens to everyone's view and tries to come to a compromise regardless of what the issue might be."

Freya expressed her thought on Yessan.

"Whether it's the right issue or the wrong one he tends to go towards. What he think is best even if it will affect people badly?"

Elthin thought on things.

"Do, you think that is a good leader for the Magician's Guild?"

"That's even if he comes to a decision." Freya commented. "Normally, he says he'll 'consider' things and then we hear nothing back. I know he's a very busy person, but he could at least give us some closure on some issues we've put forward."

Elthin asked if Freya believed that Yassan was a good leader.

"He's not only the founder of the Magician's Guild, he's also the ruling council of the Five Continents. He technically rules the entire world from his throne." Freya replied. "He's possibly the best leader out of all of the other candidates for Archmage, but he's, as I said before, lacking in most qualities."

Elthin listened to Freya.

"Has he ever helped the Animalia with anything before?"

He still listened to her.

"Would you by happen to know any of these other candidates for Archmage?" Elthin asked.

"He's provided safer routes for importing goods to Animalia from Argenta, but that's about it." Freya explained. "The tailless ones tend to leave us Animalia to our own devices and hope that we do the same to them."

Elthin asked about the other Archmage Candidates.

"That's not a topic I know about. I haven't really been looking into who's who of places outside of the Pride Lands. I just know that there were other people vying to Archmage status."

Freya didn't know much about the other Archmage Candidates.

"From the tailless ones that you have interacted with what is your general. Opinion on us to you think some of us are nice or just the same as anyone else?"

"Before meeting the Duke and yourself, I used to believe that all tailless ones were as bad as those who invaded my home and tried to kill my people for some 'Holy War'." Freya explained. "You two, along with Zena, have changed my views. I now bear some hope for the future of the world if the tailless ones eventually get their way."

"Many tailless ones are indeed nice, they can change a person's views depending. On how they act or what they choose to do. Yet many are also mean and wish to do other's harm. Maybe the future will be a bright one filled with where both tailless one and animalia can get along in peace."

"At the rate the Tailless ones are destroying our homes and our Sacred Lands, we can only dream of peace." Freya replied. "Most Animalia have never left the Pride Lands so, regrettably, they may be closed minded on Tailless ones,"

"We see, we take, we destroy that basically what us Tailless ones do. Yet there are those of us who don't do those sort of things. We are also closed minded as well."

"Genetics and lineage do cause innumerable problems for many races and animals. It's the same in the wild. The Lion hunts the Antelope, the Spider eats the fly, the Mantis feasts on its partner after conceiving. It's the circle of life. One's loss is another's gain. That is the rule of nature." Freya explained.

"It's like the strong live and the weak perish" Elthin pointed out. Elthin went back to eating his dessert.

"That's the Earth Mother's will, and we cannot challenge it." Freya concluded as the group continued with their dessert.

The group ate the rest of their dessert and small talked once more. About random everyday things soon with all the dessert finished Elthin went on to pay the hefty dinner bill. Which left him little to nothing left even with the deal that he'd taken.

Once the meal was finished and everyone had filled up, it was now time to empty the wallet. After sampling the fine dining, the price, while still being outrageously expensive, seemed to fit the quality of the meals. Only the finest ingredients were used, after all, and the imported delicacies from the other continents added an exotic feel to the meal.

Once the pair was finished with everything they decided to head home. Elthin would work Freya and the others back to her home before. Taking off to his own with Lucine where who knows what would go on.

Once Elthin had escorted Freya back to the Apothecary, she bid him goodbye, thanked him for the meal and gave him a kiss on the cheek. While Elthin was couched down to allow Freya to reach his cheek, Syl and Willow also took the opportunity to, surprisingly, give him a light peck on each cheek, one girl to either one, while quietly expressing their gratitude. Both girls then quickly retreated into the Apothecary, possibly embarrassed by their actions for someone they just met.

Afterwards, Elthin took Lucine home just as late afternoon was beginning to set in.

Elthin was given three kisses on the cheek by Freya, Syl, and Willow. He thanked them for the time they spend together and was looking forward to next time. With the goodbye said Elthin and Lucine headed home.

It was already late afternoon and as they were walking along. From the shadows, it seemed like something was watching them.

The pair began on their way home, taking in the late afternoon beauty in the skies above the city. The temperature was already starting to cool down a little and would soon be quite chilly.

Unbeknownst to Lucine, seemingly, the pair were being watched once more.

The pair were still walking along, Elthin was enjoying the coolness of the weather of this time of day.

The person watching as Elthin and Lucine moved away decided they. Wanted to test them out pulling out an elemental stone from their pocket. They threw the brownstone over at the ground a short distance away, The stone soon broke apart once striking the ground causing the magic within the stone to begin its work causing the ground to shake wildly.

During the leisurely walk, a glint could be seen zooming through the air a little way in front of the pair. Lucine was too busy looking up at the setting sun to notice. However, the sudden earthquake that happened got her attention.

"An earthquake?!" Lucine gasped. "Quick, get down!"

Lucine quickly ducked under one of the stalls lining the streets and kept her body as close to the ground as possible.

"Do you wanna end up Antlion food?!" Lucine called over to Elthin. "Get under something and stay hugging the ground!"

Elthin suddenly felt the world turn upside down as the ground began to shake. Lucine dashed for cover and Elthin did the same running to one of the stalls on a side street.

"How'd this even happen?" Elthin called out.

He had not even sensed anyone maybe it was from him. Having lowered his guard when he was with Freya and the others.

Small cracks began to form on the ground. Taking out another stone they tossed it into the sky where. Strong gusts of wind began to blow across the small section of the city. With the wind blowing like crazy a loose piece of wood broke off one of the stalls. A flew towards Lucine's hiding spot Elthin saw the piece of wood flying her way.

"Look out!" Elthin yelled. He tried to raise his hand to cast a shield spell around her.

The Earthquake increased in magnitude as the ground began to crumbled and buildings began to tremble from the vibrations caused by the ground. The winds began to stir, creating a localised sandstorm as the grains on the ground got whipped up by the howling gales, reducing visibility and increasing the danger of the situation.

A stray board of wood began to home in on Lucine's hiding spot and nearly hit her until Elthin quickly threw up a shield, batting the board to shatter against a building and send splinters into the whirling vortex of sand, stone and tattered cloth.

"This isn't a normal sandstorm or earthquake." Lucine shouted over the howling gale. "That plank would've gone to the eye and not flown towards me!"

Despite her lack of book knowledge, Lucine seemed to bear a good deal of practical and world knowledge.

A large sand storm began to blow around them. Cutting off Elthin's view of Lucine and as the world shaked he tried to regain his bearings. He could feel magic was in play here not normal magic but the kind from elemental stones. He even was able to create his shield around Lucine protecting her from the plank of wood.

"No this isn't I feel that elemental stones are in play here!" Elthin yelled.

The person watching them began to move away from them. They seemed like they had been waiting for Lucine to do something.

"Elemental what?!" Lucine shouted back, not quite hearing all of what Elthin said. "Earth and wind, if the quake and sandstorm are anything to go by! You should know that!"

"Elemental Stones!" Elthin shouted again, trying to get Lucine to hear him. With the earthquake and wind storm still raging around them. Elthin tried to cast his own magic to try and counter the magical battle being waged here.

"Yes, there are a lot of stones flying around, idiot!" Lucine countered, only hearing half of the conversation again over the howling winds and shattering boards. "Can't you do something?"

"Oh, just shut up!" Elthin snapped at her. Not caring if his words were lost in the howling winds or not. Once more he tried to regain his focus as he started to cast his own spell. Elthin felt the magic build up within him and with a few magical words and phrases said. He spread out his arms and icy magic energy flowed out from him. Forming a solid wall of ice around both Elthin and Lucine. This first was protecting them from the howling winds and shaking the ground.

Elthin next began to cast another spell this one to dispell the effects. Of the elemental stone spells that had been cast. Closing his eyes and beginning to chant Elthin worked his magic and did just that using his own powers to cast his spell. It was a fairly tricky move that took some time but Elthin was able to dispell the elemental stones powers leaving the area calm yet littered with debris. The ice walls around the pair vanished and returned to nothing.

The being who had caused everything to go out of control. Was already on their way out of the area they had a report to make to the person they were working for.

In a short space of a few moments, Elthin began to work some magic on the current situation. Taking defense as a priority, he cast an ice wall to encase the pair first, before working on countering the Elemental Stone's effects. It took a good while but, eventually, the ground was calm and the winds were silent.

"Good to know you were able to do that." Lucine commented as she crawled out from her hiding spot and dusted herself down. "Next time, please try to do it quicker."

"How about next time you try it out why should I do all the work" Elthin countered. He would need to teach Lucine the spell to despell other spells.

From the way the person was going they seemed to be heading towards the Magician's Guild.

"Do you want me to burn everything in sight?!" Lucine countered. "I don't even know where to begin with all of this stuff."

As the pair was now standing in a debris littered section of the City after a freak earthquake and sandstorm, maybe now was not the best time to dither.

"No I don't you could pee on everything instead!" Elthin countered. "I'll teach you later on how to do what I just did."

The pair started to head back to home.

Elthin suggested some rather lewd alternative, which prompted a confused and embarrassed response from Lucine.

"Perv!" Lucine exclaimed, blushing bright red. "You just wanna see me pee!"

The two began to head back to Elthin's house just as dusk was setting in.

The caused Elthin to blush red.

"Take that back, and no I don't want to watch you do that unless you want me to!"

With dusk setting in the person who had attacked them reached the Mage's Guild and slipped inside.

The return home was accompanied by embarrassed and angered silence from Lucine, who simply pouted and looked the opposite way from Elthin.

When the pair arrived back, the temperature was just starting to get even colder. Cold enough to cause mild discomfort for those in thin clothing.

They returned home and walked inside both going the opposite way of one another. Wishing to both be alone for the time being.

Inside of the Mage's Guild the one person made their way unseen with some stealth and trickery. Towards the offices of one of the lesser Magicians. This one magician had been there that day when Lucine's house had been nothing but debris.

Once both had returned home, they went their separate ways. Lucine shut herself away in her room, not interacting much from a possible mix of embarrassment and anger.

For the next half an hour, nothing happened, until a rather rapid knock was heard at the door.

Withing the Mage's Guild the person entered into the offices of a fairly young man. In his late twenties they had snow white hair and crystal blue eyes. They were dressed in the clothes of a Mage from the Nobles quarter of the town and were busy. Working on several papers that were lined on the desk. Hearing a knock at the door the Magician soon spoke up.

"Enter"

Back at home Elthin did his own thing by studying. The most recent information he had gathered or was trying to put together information on why he and Lucine were just attacked. A half hour later he heard a rapid knock on the door and went to answer it.

"Yes?"

When Elthin answered the door, he was met with a rather unexpected guest. Dressed in a Green Pea coat, just showing the lower hems of her silver dress, was Syl, whom was looking a little distracted at present. She was holding a small bottle of some kind of medicine like green mixture. Her legs were locked quite close together and she was moving her hips back a forth a little. Upon hearing Elthin opening the door, Syl jumped a little, stopped swaying and began to announce why she was here.

"D-delivery for Lucine." Syl informed Elthin as she extended the Medicine like mixture towards him. Even while standing still, her hips were trembling a little and her legs were still tightly locked together, with her left knee just slightly crossing over her right knee.

When Elthin opened the door he saw that Syl was there. Holding a small bottle she then said why she was hear. "I'll tell here you're here follow me please?" Elthin asked. He knew that Syl needed to use the bathroom one was located near Lucine's room. He led Syl inside and moments later arrived at Lucine's room.

"Lucine you have a delivery it's from Syl who is standing right beside me?"

Elthin knocked on her door.

Syl nodded at the invitation to enter the house and began to follow behind Elthin, taking rather small steps to prevent her legs from opening too wide. She took a moment to stop and squeeze her legs tightly together while Elthin was calling for Lucine. She took a longing look at the room situated next to Lucine's room, pondered something in her head before blushing red and shaking her head quite quickly. She couldn't. It was too much.

Lucine opened her bedroom door to see Elthin there.

"Oh, it's you." She frowned. "I was hoping Syl was the one who knocked."

The person in question was quickly hobbling over to Lucine when she saw the door open.

"D-delivery for you." Syl informed Lucine as she passed the medicine to her.

"I didn't think Freya delivered." Lucine commented, quite surprised. "Thanks."

"W-we deliver to all our customers. It's either myself or W-Willow who carries it out. I-I'm still a trainee, but I'll do my best!"

Syl took on a determined look as she nodded her head confidently. Her body betrayed her outward confident appearance, though, as she was now a little bent over with her legs crossed.

Elthin left both girls alone not wanting to bother them anymore. He had ignored Lucine's comment to him when he had opened the door. He instead returned to his own room to once more work on what he was doing. Lucine could show Syl where the bathroom was she knew where it was anyway.

Elthin left the duo alone and went back to research. Moments later, Lucine intruded on Elthin's research for a question. Syl was not present, so she was probably taking care of something important.

"You're not a very good host." Lucine chided Elthin. "Poor Syl was on the verge of bursting. Anyway, I wanna ask you something important, so you better listen."

Elthin was busy with his research when he heard a knock. He opened the door to see Lucine standing there.

"Now, I'm the host she's here for you so, you are the host now and what it is you want me to hear?" Elthin asked.

Elthin passed the responsibility of host over to Lucine, claiming that, as Syl was her for her, she was Lucine's responsibility.

"Whatever." Lucine sighed with a shake of her head. "Still, you can't really call yourself a Gentleman if you leave a girl busting like that. She would've made quite the puddle on the floor if I hadn't seen to her."

"Anyway, I wanna ask if Syl can stay over tonight. It's really dark out and the streets aren't safe for a small girl like her. Her 'dedicates' are a little damp as you didn't take proper care of her, so we'll need to wash them."

"Maybe it'd have been better if it was 'your' puddle instead!" Elthin countered. He only said that since he was still upset with Lucine.

Lucine then wanted to ask if Syl could stay the night,

"She, can stay" Elthin said.

Lucine just glared back at Elthin.

"You're messed up." She flatly pointed out.

Elthin then agreed to let Syl stay.

"Haven't you gotta, y'know, let Freya know? We can't just abduct Syl."

"I'll let Freya know" Elthin then got up.

He gently pushed Lucine out of the room and closed the door behind him. Turning around her went over to the viewing globe used to contact people on the desk near his main one. He started to try and contact Freya.

"Good." Lucine answered with a nod. "We'll be taking our bath now. I'll go get Syl."

Lucine then left Elthin and headed off to find Syl.

Elthin went over to the communication device and used it to contact Freya. A few moments of nothing happening went off before Freya appeared in the globe.

"I take it Syl delivered what I asked her to?" Freya began. "Did anything happen to her? She left looking quite needy. She must've gotten too fired up for her first real delivery."

"Yes, she's here safe and sound, Syl did have a small accident moments ago" Elthin pointed out to Freya. Once he was able to get through to her with the communication device.

"I'm also said to say that Lucine and I were attacked by someone or something. After we left you all I can say was that elemental stones were used. To cause an earthquake and sandstorm as to why we were attacked was a mystery."

He let that sink in.

"Other than that how are you doing miss me?"

Elthin informed Freya of Syl's lack of forethought.

"Oh dear, I hope it wasn't too public." Freya answered. "Were you there to see it, or did she tell you about it?"

"So, I guess you're not safe, wherever you go. Were either of you harmed, or did it pass over before things got too bad?"

"We're doing fine over here. And, yes, I do miss your warmth."

Another voice intruded in the conversation.

"Hey, who're you talking to, Sis?" Willow cut in, still not quite in the lens of the device. "We got another order?"

"It wasn't public, Lucine was able to see to it" Elthin informed Freya, "We are okay just at odds with each other over some things. I was able to despell the effects of the stones but am trying to think on who it could have been who attacked us?"

Freya admitted to missing him and Willow spoke up.

"I miss your warmth to and tell Willow I said hi"

"That's good to know. At least she didn't have to go through it all alone. Did she make a mess, or was it contained?" Freya replied.

"Little lovers spat?" Freya joked. "Girls are complicated. It'll be good to keep that in mind, especially when she matures. She strikes me as someone who's not true to her feelings. That's the kind of feeling I get from her. Animalia are good at picking up on non-verbal cues."

"Perhaps they had something to do with what happened yesterday? It's just a thought." Freya suggested.

"You can tell her that yourself." Freya smiled as Willow tried to get in the view of the device, but only managed to look like she was peering around a corner.

"Oh, hey there." Willow greeted Elthin. "What's got you calling? Did Syl get lost on the way?"

"I'm not really sure you'd have to ask Lucine as I left them alone shortly before it happened," Elthin said.

Freya spoke on Lucine and her feelings.

"I wouldn't call us lovers, what you do say sounds just like her. She never says what she truly feels or is more like someone who says one thing then means the other."

"As for that, I can't really say maybe more people know about Lucine's little episode within. The city then we truly know about?" Elthin said in response to Freya's question.

Freya moved aside and Willow has seen again.

"Syl, arrived here safely was just calling to ask you on a date?" Elthin joked. "No, I'm really calling to tell Freya that Lucine wanted Syl to spend the night. Anyway, how are you doing?" Elthin asked.

"Hopefully it wasn't too bad. I apologise if you're left with a puddle to clean up. Syl's a little too complacent when she sets her mind on something she's determined to do." Freya answered.

Elthin had a suspicion that a fair deal of people may know about what happened the previous day.

"Maybe so. We may have to do some digging around for knowledge." Freya suggested.

"Didn't we just go on a 'Date'?" Willow questioned. "So Syl'll be sleeping with Lu? No fair! I wanna sleep over as well."

"If Syl's fine with it, then, by all means, if it's not too much trouble, I'd like for her to stay. It'll help her break out of her shell." Freya replied. "Just so you know, Syl can't sleep alone. She's got to be sleeping with someone else in order to drift off. She's normally sleeping with Willow."

"Does that mean I get to sleep with you, sis?"

"Of course it does. I can't leave you alone to sleep when you're used to company."

Willow turned back to Elthin on the device.

"You've gotta let me stay 'round sometime as well. I can't let Syl spend more time with Lu than me."

"Right now I'm trying to put together some knowledge of what I know. If I find anything new I'll let you, Duke Trent and The Elder know. If you can find anything out on your end please let me know?" Elthin asked.

Willow then spoke up.

"Syl, will be spending the night in Lu's room not sleeping with her" Elthin corrected her. Freya then wanted Syl to stay to help her break out of her shell. While Willow wished at some point to spend the night as well.

"If it wasn't already too late I'd let you tonight. How about tomorrow night does that sound fair to you?"

"I do some snooping with the customers I have tomorrow. I'll keep yourself and the others updated if I find anything." Freya agreed.

"Syl can't sleep unless she's hugging someone else. She'll have to be with Lu." Willow corrected Elthin. "I'll be holding you to that, you know."

"I'll make sure to let Lu know so no need to worry about that" Elthin told Willow. He turned to Freya for a moment and went on to ask something. "How's Duke Trent doing?" Elthin asked.

"He was helping put up a monument of some sort when I last tried to contact him. I got Zena instead, and she told me that the Duke was busy with something." Freya answered. "Did Syl get a chance to give her second message, or was she a little too...preoccupied?"

Freya mentioned that Syl had a second message.

"What second message I never was able to hear it is it something important?" Elthin asked. He also learned that Duke Trent was busy with something.

"I just wanted her to let you know that Lucine's check up is booked for three day's time." Freya informed Elthin. "Come along early in the morning and we'll get it over with. Also, if you can, have her bring along a 'sample' so I can check her O/P levels to see if she's hit puberty early or not. If she has, I'll have to change the check up a little."

Elthin learned of when Lucine's check up would be and to bring a 'sample' which would. Let her O/P levels be seen "I'll see what I can do I'm sure she'll be embarrassed about that" Elthin said. With nothing else left to talk about Elthin bid Freya and Willow goodbye. Shutting of the device he went to go break the news to Lucine.

"Every girl is when they're asked to give a sample. Just do what you can." Freya answered.

The trio then bid each other goodbye and Elthin went in search of Lucine, who still seemed to be in the bath with Syl.

"Wow, you're so soft." Lucine's muffled voice came from behind the door, "How'd you get like that?"

""T-thanks. I-I don't know. Willow says I'm soft and cuddly as well." Syl answered, also muffled by the door.

The sound of water splashing, followed by a yelp from Syl, happened next.

"D-don't squeeze there." Syl pleaded.

"I gotta check to see if you're growing right." Lucine answered. "Wow, they're softer than I imagined."

More splashing and yelping was heard, accompanied by giggling from Lucine.

"Stay still. I'm only trying to check how healthy you are." Lucine giggled.

"Do you have to squeeze in those places?!" Syl countered. "You're bullying me, aren't you?"

"Of course not! You small and cuddly and I just can't help myself."

Elthin arrived at the bathroom where he heard both girls speaking. He listened for a short while on what was being said.

It seemed like something rather interesting was going on in there. So, Elthin kept on listening for a short while longer.

Elthin decided to play the creeper and listen in to the stuff going on in the bathroom.

"B-but, you're touching me in funny places. How's that checking my health?" Syl asked.

"I'm doing a full check up. Surely you've seen Freya doing this?" Lucine replied.

"She always does it behind a curtain, so I don't kn- ah!"

Splashing and moving around in water was heard, still accompanied by giggles from Lucine and whimpers from Syl.

"You're soft all over. I'm jealous." Lucine flatly announced. "How'd you get soft down there as well?"

"I said I don't know. Please, stop touching me like that." Syl retorted.

"I'm only having some fun. You can touch me next if you want. See how shapely and irresistible I am."

Elthin blushed as he heard more of the chatter between Lucine and Syl. And in a rather strange way which he could really answer Elthin felt himself growing hard downstairs. Deciding that he didn't want to make trouble if they were to find out about his own mess. Elthin then gently knocked on the door to the bathroom.

"Lucine, I've got some news for you about your check-up" Elthin spoke.

Elthin continued to listen and was getting quite aroused by the girls' behaviour. Eventually, not wanting to seem too much like a creeper, he knocked on the door, prompting a startled yelp from Syl.

"Can it wait?" Lucine answered. "We're busy in here."

"It can wait" Elthin said.

He went on to leave both girls alone to their fun.

Elthin left the girls to their fun. Around ten minutes later, Lucine came looking for Elthin in his study.

10 minutes later Lucine arrived at Elthin's study and he let her in.

"I've been informed that in three days time your checkup will take place. I've also been told that you're to bring a 'sample' along to be checked out by Freya. It's more to check out your O/P levels" Elthin explained.

Elthin explained that Lucine had a check up in three day's time, but he lost her on the more intrinsic details.

"Sample?" Lucine questioned. "O/P levels? Speak in a way I can understand, please."

"It will have to be you know your 'pee' as the sample which is needed. As for O/P levels I'm as lost as you are medicine was never one of my strong points in studying."

Elthin explained just what sample was wanted from Lucine, and the expected response came.

"No way!" Lucine retorted as she blushed. "I'm not peeing in anything for anyone!"

The normal response came from Lucine.

"There's no choice, and you woulnd't be peeing in front of anyone. You can do that in private by yourself but the 'sample' is still needed."

Elthin tried to talk Lucine into the idea of providing the sample.

"No means no." Lucine countered. "I ain't peeing in a bottle for anyone! It's not a matter of privacy, but a matter of my dignity."

"Then we have a problem on our hands" Elthin replied.

Lucine still did not wish to provide the sample due to dignity.

"If she wants a sample, then she's going to have to force it out of me. I'm not peeing for her." Lucine finished in a huff. "Is that all you wanted? If it is, I'm going to bed now."

"I'm sure Freya wouldn't try and force it out of you" Lucine wanted to know if there was anything else.

"Why have you been so negative lately, you're all nice to Syl and the others yet. To me you give me the roit act why?" Elthin asked.

The talk of the check up was not the last Elthin wanted from Lucine,

"I'm negative 'cause you make me negative." Lucine answered. "Don't ask me why, I don't even know."

Lucine mentioned it was Elthin who made her negative,

"Well, I'm going to ask it 'Why?' is it because you're jealous of me showing attention to others. Or is it because of everything that has happened since we came into contact with one another?" Elthin asked.

"I already said I don't know." Lucine repeated, this time more forcefully. "Sometimes you make me feel so angry, and other times you make me feel all weird. I don't even know what's going on anymore or how I feel."

"Well, you better learn just what it is then and soon" Elthin replied. He then let Lucine know she was no longer needed. "That's all for now you may go to sleep now."

Elthin decided to not take into account Lucine's mixed emotions and decided to still blame her for the issues she'd caused.

"I would if I could!" Lucine countered. "Fine! Be that way, then."

Lucine then left the study in quite the bad mood.

Elthin didn't even watch as Lucine left the study. He quickly went back to work on his own problems for another hour before turning in for the night himself.

Elthin made no move to try and patch things up with Lucine and, instead, stayed researching for a little while longer until he decided to turn in for the night as well. All was silent in Lucine's room, possibly because the two residents were fast asleep. If he was quiet enough, he could check up on the pair to ensure that everything was as it should be with them.

Before Elthin turned in for the night he made his rounds. Catching around the house to see if everything was all right. So, far everything seemed okay and he soon reached Lucine's room he didn't hear anything coming from their room. And thought they were fast asleep however he decided to check up on them by slowly and quietly opening the door to peek inside.

While making his rounds, Elthin decided to check up on the pair in Lucine's room. slowly opening the door to peer in, Elthin saw that Lucine and Syl were snuggled up nice a close together, positively huddled as close as possible and sleeping soundly. It was actually quite the heartwarming sight to see. Syl was nestled in the space between Lucine's arms and her chest, resting her head sideways on Lucine's chest, and Lucine looked to be nesting her nose inside of Syl's flowing hair, which was at present not tied in her usual style. They looked like two little angels all snug together. It was nice to see Syl relaxed enough to do something like that. This almost made all the trouble Lucine put Elthin through worth it.

On the desk near the bed were two small empty glasses next to the opened bottle Syl had delivered for Lucine. Judging by this, it was clear that, maybe, Syl occasionally had issues while sleeping. At least both of them were not alien to it if the draught didn't work.

Both girl's were sleeping soundly as Elthin looked into their room. On the desk near the bed he spotted an opened bottle and two glasses. Seemed that Syl might be suffering the same sort of issues that Lucine has. Looking around one last time he slowly closed the door and headed towards his room. Once inside he changed into his night clothes, climbed into bed and went to sleep.

After ensuring that the girls were all comfy and sound asleep, Elthin went to turn in for the evening as well, gently closing the door behind him and heading into his own room.


	3. Book 1 Dragons

**Book 1 - Chapter 2: Dragons, Witches and Cultists.**

The next day dawned and the morning light began to gently enter the bedroom, prompting some stirring from the young pair still snuggled up close together in bed. Syl rolled over to the side to keep the sunlight creeping in through the windows out of her eyes, and Lucine shuffled closer to not let her cuddle buddy get too far away. The duo showed no signs of wanting to give in to the pull of the morning and would rather stay cuddled.

Another day another morning Elthin had slept soundly that night. And on this very morning he wasn't one to wake up first taking a small break and sleeping in for a change. He slept for another hour before finally waking up for the day. As he got up he walked over to his own bathroom and walked inside to get cleaned up.

Eventually, the invading light source caused Syl to begin to stir awake, gently fluttering her eyes open as she began to push herself up, only to be pinned down by the still sleepy Lucine.

"Cuddle more..." Lucine mumbled as she pulled Syl closer. "Soft and warm..."

The pull of the bed, and Lucine's insistent hugging, caused Syl to lie down once more. After all, she wasn't at home so she didn't have to get up early. Willow or Freya weren't there to rouse the sleepy girl, after all, and Lucine seemed quite content with the company as well.

Elthin took a nice hot shower and then shaved doing his best to make sure he was all handsome. Once he was done with those tasks Elthin got dressed and headed to check up on his two guests again. Making his way to Lucine's room he lightly knocked on the door.

"Time to get up sleepy heads?"

Giving into the charms of sleep only lasted a little while longer before the silence was intruded by a knocking at the door. Lucine just grumbled sleepily as she tried her best to ignore the will to get up, whereas Syl decided to wiggle her way out of Lucines arms and begin to get up. It appeared that Syl was better trained in waking up than Lucine was.

"J-just a second. I'll get Lu up." Syl answered as movement was heard from the other side of the door. "May I trouble you for the use of your bath again?"

Syl was the first to wake up and Lu wasn't Syl then wished to use the bath again. "Sure go ahead and make sure Lu has one to, we've got a rather busy day ahead" Elthin explained. As he then let both girl's do their thing.

"Thanks." Syl answered. "I'll try and get her up."

Elthin then left the pair to their own devices.

Elthin first went to go check if he had any mail or messages. He first checked the communications device for anything before. Heading outside his home and seeing if there was anything for him outside. Once he checked those things he headed into the kitchen to fix breakfast.

Elthin checked the communication device for any missed messages. As it was still early in the day, it was not showing any signs of missed communication. The outside post was just the usual stuff, like notices for being cautious due to the imminent approach of the Inquisition, and the general news of the City.

A little while later, Syl entered the kitchen, followed by a still tired looking Lucine,

"I wanna have you round here all the time. You make a nice cuddle buddy." Lucine mumbled to Syl.

"I'm not that good, really. I'm pretty average compared to others." Syl answered shyly.

"You're like a little fluffy pillow full of warmth."

"I'm not really sure how to take that..."

The conversation quickly turned back to serious when Syl noticed Elthin.

"U-um, thank you for letting me stay over, and trouble you for the use of your facilities. I hope I wasn't too much trouble for you." Syl politely thanked Elthin with a small bow. She was obviously raised to have impeccable manners.

Elthin had not got any messages and went about fixing breakfast of pancakes, bacon and eggs and toast, Soon enough Syl and a sleepy Lucine entered the room.

"It was nice having you over here you weren't too much trouble. It's also nice to have and see Lucine unwind I take it she had a lot of fun having you around?"

"If keeping me in bed by holding me down was fun, then..." Syl answered with a blush. "There was also bath time, both yesterday evening and this morning."

"Girl stuff should be kept between girls." Lucine chided Syl. "Elthin doesn't need to know. It'll only excite him."

Elthin knew what had happened during bath time yesterday. He didn't mention anything about him having listened to their chat yesterday.

"Maybe you two were talking about boys you like or something?" Elthin asked.

"No, that's not it." Syl answered, looking a little apprehensive about talking about it any more.

"Girl talk is between girls and girls alone. You're not allowed to know." Lucine reiterated.

"Okay, okay" Elthin finally said.

Not wanting to be drawn into another argument with Lucine, He turned to Lucine and asked her a question.

"I've been doing some thinking this morning and am going to ask you this. What would you like to do today?"

"I just wanna relax and pickpocket a few Nobles, but I know that's not gonna happen." Lucine answered. "I'd like to learn a bit more about this...thing I have."

Elthin thought over what Lucine had just said.

"For now you can relax with Syl here and if you want go see Willow to. We can always do the more serious stuff later on today."

"Guess that'll work." Lucine shrugged.

"I don't want to trouble you any more than I have." Syl interjected. "I think I've stayed her long enough. I'm grateful for your generous hospitality, but I don't want to overstep my bounds."

Lucine seemed bummed about what Elthin offered for them to do.

"Syl you're no trouble at all and I don't mind having you here" Elthin says. He looked at Lucine and started to walk towards her.

"I'd like to speak to you in private for a moment please?"

"You flatter me, really." Syl answered, looking down at the ground shyly. "Having two girls in the house has to be difficult."

Elthin wanted to speak to Lucine in private, for some reason.

"What've I done this time?" Lucine questioned, unsure of why she was being summoned alone. "Why can't Syl be there for it?"

"A little yes but I believe it's something I'll get used to in time" Elthin answered.

Lucine spoke up.

"Nothing yet, but this a private matter that doesn't concern Syl here" Elthin stated.

Elthin explained the reasoning behind wanting to speak to Lucine in private.

"If that's the case then, please, excuse me." Syl interjected as she took a quick curtsy and headed out of the room.

"What is this 'private matter'?" Lucine asked, sounding a little tense about it. "C'mon then, say it."

Syl headed out of the room leaving both Elthin and Lucine alone.

"What is with you, ever since yesterday you've been so moody. What is it something I did to make you all like this?"

Elthin repeated the question he asked yesterday.

"I said so yesterday, and I'll say it again. I don't know. Sometimes, I'm just angry, and other times, I'm fine. I think you're reading into it far too much. I don't think I'm being moody at all right now." Lucine repeated. "It might be due to this weird power I have, or something else. I don't got book knowledge, you're the bookworm here. Find something in your books."

Lucine said the same thing as before.

"Then you need to find out what's wrong with you. I can't be the one to always have the answer for things you'll need to find out some things about yourself as well."

Elthin insisted that Lucine should be the one to find out.

"How am I meant to do that?" She countered. "I can't read, I can't write, I can't exactly ask anyone about it, even if I knew who to ask. What am I supposed to do?"

Unlike normal, this questioning sounded more out of desperation than anger.

Lucine wasn't sure on what she could do.

"The only thing I can say is learn, you're given a rare opportunity here. So, take advantage of it and learn all that you can. In time you'll learn things about yourself maybe we can both learn things together?"

"But to learn I need to learn how to read." Lucine repeated. "I wanna know just what's wrong with me as much as you do."

"I know that I'm still willing to teach you, but learning to read takes time" Elthin told her. He wondered if they really had time for her to learn all these things.

"Then why are we wasting time talking?" Lucine questioned in exasperation. "Let's get going already! The longer we take, the longer you'll be stuck with me"

"I'm not stuck with you, and if you want to learn let's first say good bye to Syl. Then your lessons can begin"

Elthin started to head out of the room to go see Syl.

"Fine." Lucine answered as she headed off to see Syl out, whom was waiting patiently by the doorway.

"Thank you, once again, for having me over last night." Syl appreciatively said to Elthin. "And thank you, too, for allowing me to borrow your clothes and your bed." Syl said to Lucine as she gave her a hug.

"You're welcome over whenever you want." Lucine informed Syl as she hugged her, hiding Syl's back by aiming her towards Elthin. It was unsure why she did this, until Syl let out a surprised squeak and her hands darted down to her rear.

The pair met Syl who was waiting by the doorway.

"You're welcome once again," Elthin answered.

As Elthin watched Lucine hugged Syl she aimed the girl at him hiding Syl's back. Not really sure what Syl was up to when she let out a surprised squeak and her hands went to her rear.

"Is something wrong?" Elthin asked.

Elthin questioned the sudden outburst from Syl, who quickly acted like it was all fine.

"N-nothing's wrong. She just...took me by surprise, that's all!" Syl quickly insisted, still blushing and moving her hands behind her back for some reason.

"We're just making sure we're saying goodbye to each other properly." Lucine interjected as her hands were moved from behind Syl and to her sides, by Syl's hands, no less.

Elthin looked at both girls for a short while not sure whether to believe them or not.

"One weird way to say good bye," Elthin said. He thought about doing what Lucine did but didn't instead he walked to the door and opened it to allow Syl to leave even following her outside as to walk her home safely.

Once the strange goodbyes were done, Elthin began to walk Syl home a bit, until Syl stopped just a little bit down the pathway to the main thoroughfare of the City. She then turned to Elthin with a small smile on her face.

"Thanks, but I'll be fine on my own from here. Can't have you escorting me back otherwise it'll make it look like I didn't do my job well enough." Syl informed Elthin, for once acting like it was a basic conversation. "I'll like to come over again at some point, maybe when Lu's started at the Guild."

They walked Syl home for a bit before Syl moved on ahead and then turned to speak to them.

"You're welcome anytime you want to come over. Next time you can bring Freya along with you" Elthin said. They then parted ways with Syl as everyone waved goodbye and Elthin and Lucine walked back to the house to begin their lessons.

"We could all have a sleepover together. Of course, if that's fine with you." Syl suggested. "Willow doesn't like being alone."

Once the trio had parted ways, Elthin headed back in with Lucine to begin lessons for the day.

Before they had fully left ear shot range Elthin told Syl it was okay. Soon they reached home and walked inside Elthin led Lucine to the library to begin her studies with learning to read.

The day began with reading lessons, following on from the progress from the previous day. Lucine had gotten a little better at reading the passage they were learning, almost like she'd been working on it by herself, or, more accurately, with the aid of another. Elthin hadn't been keeping track of the pair the previous evening, so maybe Lucine 'convinced' Syl to help her with education.

As they did Lucine's reading lessons at first he didn't know. That Lucine had improved a bit since they had last did this. But over time he came to see that she had improved. He took things slowly with her helping her out with a 'Beginner's Guide to Reading' for novices like Lucine here. He even brought in the magic book he had loaned to her as well.

As the more complicated books started coming in, Lucine's current reading ability was not enough to keep up with the more dedicated books, so she tried to stay away from them and keep on with her initial reading lesson plan. Taking things step by step wasn't something that it seemed she was used to, but she didn't show any aversion to doing it.

Things started to become harder on Lucine as the more complicated books came down. He put them to the side and still worked on the easier books. After about two hours of reading lessons Elthin let Lucine take a break and he went on to prepare her for her next lesson.

Once the reading lessons were up, Lucine was allowed to take a short break. She took this time to prepare herself for her next lessons and review what she'd learned in reading, attempting to read some book titles in the Library.

Elthin gave Lucine a half hour break to review what she had learned. Along with reading some other books to even resting a bit. Once the time was up the next lessons were to begin this time Elthin was going to teach Lucine how to write. He needed to take things very slowly and started with the first letter of Lucine's name 'L'

After the half-hour break, Elthin's next topic of teaching was penmanship and writing. The lesson started with reviewing the Alphabet and what it looks like, as letters cannot be formed without knowledge of their shape. The differences between uppercase and lowercase were left to the side, for now, as the forming was the core of writing.

Despite having no writing experience, Lucine's penmanship was quite good, for a beginner. She tried holding the quill like a blade, but that didn't work out. Her finger dexterity showed promise for impeccable writing skill but what held it back was the lack of knowledge of how to write, and hold writing implements.

Elthin had also brought over some books for Lucine to read. Which would help her with learning to write they were in the easy catagory. As he thought her Elthin caught on that he penmanship was quite good for a beginner. She had a change to really shine here when she improved as time went on Elthin helped Lucine write the rest of her name along with her, Syl's and even Willow's names.

The form of the letters written were slightly off, but the base of writing was there. They were understandable, but only just. With time, they will become much more well formed, as Lucine was picking up on the basic shapes of certain letters from the books provided.

Next once everyone's names were written down Elthin wanted to teach Lucine. How to use the names in a sentence he started to slowly teach her how to write one out. Along with going over different words such as nouns, verbs, adverbs etc.

Bringing in different types of words, along with writing them, was a little overwhelming for Lucine. Word types are more suited to reading lessons, not writing. She tried to write out simple sentences using the words she knew and managed to put together very basic three to five word sentences.

When Lucine started to become overwhelmed with the words. Elthin stopped and went over to help her with what she didn't understand. He thought her first to use the easy words that she knew about and try those out first before moving. Onto the more advanced words in time Lucine was able to write out simple sentences with three to five words each. For a moment in the lesson, Elthin stopped what he was doing.

"How are you holding up?"

Cramming in years worth of education in a few hours took a good deal out of Lucine. She was keeping up, but was slightly struggling a little more as time went on. The added assistance helped somewhat but, in the end, Lucine's mind just couldn't take much more and she began to lose focus.

"Too many books." Lucine commented with a sigh. "I didn't expect learning to be this book heavy. I'm just as bad as those old guys with their noses crammed into books all the time. It's a wonder I haven't hit the pipe."

As Lucine learned more and time went on Elthin could see that. She was struggling as time went on even with Elthin's help Lucine started to lose focus.

"How about we stop for now, as it looks like you're all booked out. We can do something you want to do for a while?" Elthin suggested.

"Like what?" Lucine asked, fixated on the chance at getting away from dusty old books. "We've got that fight coming up with the bent pair. You haven't seen me with daggers, have you?"

"I don't know it's up to you on what we can do?" Lucine then mentioned that he had not seen her with daggers yet. "I don't believe that I have, we can do that or some magic training. Or we can just relax"

"I'd rather relax for a bit. I'm all booked out and can't really be bothered to do anything." Lucine answered. "We could go and annoy Freya, Syl and Willow, if you wanna see your girlfriend again,"

There was a slight huff with the word "girlfriend", but it wasn't too much of a negative indicator.

Lucine suggested that they see Freya and friends.

"We, can do that I have no problem with it" He didn't bother with hearing the huff when Lucine mentioned his 'girlfriend' So, with things decided Elthin and Lucine went to go see their friends after locking up the Manor.

It was decided that the pair would go pay a visit to Freya and her 'Children'.

On the road to the Apothecary, it was instantly noticeable that the city was, once more, completely empty, despite it being nearly midday. The threat of the Inquisition was holding strong over the city, it seems. The site of the localised sandstorm from the previous day was still in disarray. There was also something like tracks leading into that section. but most of them were blown over by the sand on the wind.

As the headed outside the city was once again basically empty. With the threat of the Inquisition not many people where not going outside. As the passed the area of the sandstorm yesterday. Elthin stopped and looked around. He could see tracks leading into the section. He looked closer to see if they were a single set of tracks or if more then one set was there.

The pair stopped for a moment as Elthin decided to become a tracker and look at the faded footprints in the sand. They were mostly blown over, but some still remained. They looked very close in size to a child's footprint, barefoot at that, which was actually pretty common in a place like this. Without looking into them closer, and potentially finding any other incriminating evidence, these could just belong to any waif from the Slums.

"Thought we were going to Freya's and not looking at footprints in the sand?" Lucine cut in.

As Elthin looked at the footprints in the sand he saw that they looked. Like a small child's barefoot which looked quite common. Elthin was about to study them closer when Lucine spoke up once again.

"Was just looking for something." He turned and rejoined her on the way to Freyas.

"Well, look in your own time, ruin freak." Lucine retorted. "We're here to relax, not study old stuff."

The pair resumed their route to Freya's, passing through the main square until...

...movement was seen just over the square. From this angle and distance, it looked to be a squad of three to four people, with a single commander issuing orders. The commander, despite bearing all of the sigils and badges of a high ranking officer, looked to be quite young for someone in charge. Judging by the appearances of people in the local area, when they are out and about, this commander looked to be just shy of 15 Summers old, but it was hard to tell without getting close. The shape of their silhouetted outline through the displaced sand in the wind looked close to a female's body shape, but the people they were commanding were almost all military trained Males. It was uncommon to see a female out and about alone, and even more so giving order to Males. In some practices, this may be considered as Heresy to the Old Ways, but the Males looked completely loyal to the young girl. They were clearly outsiders to this Continent, but they were not being tested for their brazen disregard to the principles and practices of Perrisethian life.

"Whatever" Elthin answered.

As they were passing through the main square movement was seen. As a squad of three to four people with a commander were issuing orders. Elthin decided to move closer to Lucine he took hold of her hand. Making sure the spell that would keep her hidden was active. As he didn't know if they were here searching for someone or other business. As they moved closer Elthin could see that the commander was 15 years old. Though it was kinda hard to tell from the distance between them. As they got closer he saw the commander seemed female in size and shape. With the other members of her squad being Male.

He decided to try and overhear what was being said. And kept close to the squad but just out of distance from them maybe trying something out.

Elthin, upon noticing the group of official looking Military people, began to slow pace and hold Lucine's hand. This, of course, came with some rebuke.

"What're we stopping for?!" Lucine complained. "And why're you getting so touchy feely with me?"

Eventually, Lucine noticed the group of people in the square and comments came to a standstill.

Elthin attempted to listen in on the conversation going on, but only caught the tailend of it.

"...and that's why you need to stop slacking off!" The commander demanded. "How hard can it be to find a Slum girl posing to be a rich girl?"

The lecture from the commanding officer stopped suddenly as she seemingly sensed something.

"I thought all the rats cleared shop when we came here." The Commander exasperatedly stated. "Just who do you think you are interrupting Inqui- " The Commander stopped as she turned to face both Elthin and Lucine.

As Elthin was now a little closer, he could make out a bit more about this official Military girl. She had a wine red Military uniform on, consisting of a navy blue blouse under a Wine red blazer marked with a sigil of the hilt of a red winged rapier inset with coloured gems in the hilt and pommel. To any educated individual, this was the sigil of the Inquisition. On her lower half, unlike the rest of the Inquisition's forces, she had a wine red and navy blue checked skirt which stretched to just above her knee and, on her feet were a pair of red leather boots decorated with Inquisitorial runes. On the left hand side of her waist, she had the signature rapier of the Inquisition's Adepts casually slung in its runed scabbard and, on the right hand side of her waist, she had a rather strange looking device with a crossbow-like handle. It looked to be more something that the Argentian Duke's Guard would have on them. It was a strange metal projectile weapon, currently set to 'neutral'. Due to researching Argentian armaments, Elthin could make an educated guess that this firearm was a gun of some variety.

The Inquisitor looked upon Elthin and Lucine rather unamused.

"We spend nearly a whole morning searching this volcano of a city and the targets come waltzing up to us all casually." The Inquisitor sighed with a shake of her head. "Come to hand her over? The bounty on her could buy you all you could ever dream of."

"I don't like the look of the people over there," Elthin whispered. With his head, it pointed in the direction of the soldiers and commander. As they moved closer Elthin's grip on Lucine's hand tightened when he overheard a little of what they were talking about. It seemed that the commander had been informed of a Slum girl who was posing as a rich girl. This troubled Elthin as how could they have found out so soon. Maybe they had agents within the city who were spying on Elthin and Lucine?

As they attempted to walk past everyone the commander turned to face Elthin and Lucine. This gave them a clearer image of the girl and the way she was dressed. The commander was indeed part of the Inquisition and soon enough the commander spoke.

"I've already got everything I ever need" Elthin replied calmly. His eyes were looking for anyone who might be watching them. He needed to play things out slowly he didn't want to cause a scene here and if things got out of hand he needed a way to escape with Lucine quickly. Maybe he could try and locate Freya, The Elder or The Duke if things got really hairy.

"Why do I have to hand her over?"

Elthin was not bought so easily and countered the offer by saying that there was nothing he could ever need. He then asked why he had to hand her over.

"Nice try, lover boy. Nobody can be as lucky as that." The Inquisitor countered. "The Inquisition have an interest in her. After all, she is a natural born Witch."

The Inquisitor focused on Lucine, seemingly trying to find something on her. Elthin's ability to detect the flows of magic indicated that the Inquisitor was attempting to read Lucine's Magical aura. This was only normally done to determine just what the target was capable of, and how much control they had over the powers they possess.

"She's got a potential of being an Adept. I can sense another force inside of her other than the fires she called upon that sewer they call the Slums here. There's also...something else. Something I can't quite make out. Most interesting..." The Inquisitor commented. "You can either hand her over to us and, if she's just another Witch, we can ensure that she's not going to burn down this city. If she's an Adept, she'll always have a place in the Inquisition. The alternative is that we just kill her here and now. either way, we don't lose much. Also, if word gets out that she's a Witch, both of you will likely end up dead."

"Don't I get a choice?" Lucine cut in. "Being dead or a slave doesn't really sit right with me."

"Not really." The Inquisitor replied matter of factly. "What can one Magician and a untrained Witch do against an Inquisitor and four trained Peacekeepers?"

"Lover I'm afraid not as I already have someone," Elthin answered. The Inquisitor then spoke once again. "No, she isn't she's a normal girl"

Elthin was then able to feel the ability that the Inquisitor was trying to read Lucine's magical aura. Elthin wasn't liking the way things were going right now.

"I can't hand her over to you nor can I allow you to do any harm to her. While I would like to avoid a fight if possible." Elthin said. He didn't really have many options to go with if he ran away with Lucine he'd become a wanted criminal. He turned to look over at Lucine you do get a choice you're staying with me. If these people get their hands on you I might never see you again."

Elthin and Lucine were in trouble Elthin tried looking around. For anyone that might be able to help them out of their current problem. Using his eyes in tried to see if either Freya, Duke Trent or the Elder might be walking towards them or through the crowd.

Elthin was not about to give up Lucine, and the Inquisitor knew this.

"It's not a question of 'can' or 'can't', it's simply a question of 'do it' or 'die trying to oppose'." The Inquisitor explained.

"Better to die fighting for freedom than be a slave for a lifetime." Lucine countered, prompting a rather amused smile from the Inquisitor.

"Typical Slum etiquette, if you can call it that." The Inquisitor countered. "Listen, kid, you either come with us and we'll keep you nice and safe. We'll give you new clothes, a title, potentially, all the food you can eat and all the clean water you can drink, until you're old enough for the joys of wine. We'll give you a solid roof over your head, a bath every day with the finest soaps known to the Five Continents, and your own handmaiden. The alternative is that you spend your life on the run until you either die of exhaustion, or fall at our hands. So, what'll it be?"

Despite how much Elthin tried to find a way out of this encounter, he was left with no options. All the people he could think of were either halfway across the continent or unknowing of his current plight.

Elthin wasn't about to hand Lucine over to anyone.

"Are you really in that of a hurry to die?" Elthin asked Lucine.

Elthin wasn't able to find any sort of help as everyone he was looking for. Were no where around and the only option he had was to hand Lucine over. Though a second option was also there he could run away with Lucine and try to escape the city?

"Damn it" Elthin muttered.

He let go of Lucine's hand and backed away a little.

"The girl is yours" Elthin said quietly.

Elthin, after hearing the only alternatives to the situation, decided to sacrifice Lucine for his own gain.

"Oh, really?" The Inquisitor asked, looking a little confused. "You'd readily give her up that easily, even after all you said to try and keep her? I'd hate to have you as a Guardian, that's for sure."

Lucine, upon being given up, look both hurt and betrayed as she stared at Elthin, tears in her eyes, as he back away to give her up.

"But- " Lucine choked out over tears. "But..."

This seemed to spark something within the usually soulless Inquisitor.

"Oh..." The Inquisitor commented. "Ah...um..."

The Inquisitor then cleared her throat and returned to her usual Militant self.

"As you caught me at a less than favourable time, I'll give you to the end of the day to come to a decision. I'd like to shower off these four layers of sand and stone as soon as possible. I expect you to come back to this plaza at no later than seven this evening. You're free to do what you want until then. I expect a final answer."

Elthin wasn't sacrificing Lucine for his own gain he had little options to go with. The Inquisitor seemed confused with his change of thought.

"What am I suppose to do run away with her and become a wanted criminal?" Elthin asked. Lucine turned to him and looked at him with a look of betrayal and hurt. She started crying and Elthin felt hurt on the inside.

"Do, you really think I want to do this, what am I suppose to fight them and die? Do you want to die I don't know what to do" Elthin said helplessly.

The Inquisitor then cleared her throat and spoke up.

"Fine I'll meet you back here at seven this evening," Elthin said.

He started to leave heading to Freya's the look on his face was one of his own sadness.

"Then it's agreed." The Inquisitor answered. She then called her Peacekeepers into rank and file and headed off towards the Tavern by the main gate, leaving Lucine and Elthin alone in the square. Lucine wasn't even looking in Elthin's direction as she was softly sobbing, tears falling off her face onto the floor to create small wet spots in the sand. Before Elthin could continue to take Lucine to Freya's, Lucine turned to him, still crying full force.

"I hate you, you selfish bastard!" Lucine angrily shouted at Elthin. "You're just like all the others!"

Lucine then ran off down one of the side streets.

Before Elthin left Lucine turned to him and spoke with him.

"You don't understand what was I suppose to do?" Elthin told her. Lucine then ran off crying and Elthin was left alone he could go after her but he didn't. He needed time to think and plan things he needed help.

He headed for Freya's and arrived there moments later knocking on the door.

Not chasing after the distraught Lucine, Elthin decided to seek additional help to rectify this tense situation. He arrived at the Apothecary and knocked on the door. There was excited chatter from both Syl and Willow before the door was opened by the pair, who seemed to be fighting over who'd greet the customer first.

"Hello." Willow greeted Elthin. "Lu not with you?"

"We're currently free at the moment, so feel free to come in." Syl added in, before noticing the rather ragged appearance of Elthin. "Did something happen?!" She continued, sounding very concerned.

Elthin waited outside the Apothecary he heard the excited chatter, From inside he didn't feel excited at all. He felt hurt and sad he did the only thing he could think of. Even though it was bad he didn't mean to hurt Lucine like he had done but what else could he have done?

Soon Willow was the one to greet Elthin. and Syl joined her moments later.

"At the moment no" Elthin said sadly. Syl seemed to pick up on that Elthin wasn't in the greatest of moods.

"Yes, something did happen something very bad happened. I need to see Freya right away please take me to her?" Elthin asked.

Elthin requested to see Freya right away. Willow, now noticing the gravity of the situation, quickly hurried off to fetch the only other responsible adult present, as per the request, leaving Syl with Elthin.

"Come in, take a seat." Syl began, trying to keep as calm as she possibly could. "Shall I get you anything?"

Even though the situation may have been rather abnormal, Syl still couldn't shrug her upbringing enough to pass up being a respectable hostess.

Shortly after Willow had set off, she returned from the back room with Freya, who looked like she was caught in the middle of mixing an alchemical concoction.

Willow went to go get Freya right away leaving Elthin with Syl. Elthin didn't say much but did take a seat when it was offered to him. "No thanks" Elthin muttered. He tried to think of someway to put together what he was about to say to Freya who arrived a few moments later.

"Sorry, to break you away from what you were doing. But I need some help, real help" Elthin said. He had gotten up and started to pace around the room. After gathering his thoughts he explained to all three girls everything that had happened. Of how both he and Lucine had left to come visit everyone when they ran into the Inquisition. Who seemed to know about Lucine was posing as a rich girl. Elthin went on to explain that he was hand over Lucine to them. At first he had refused and tried to think of ways they both could get out of the mess. They were now in but running away or staying to fight against them wouldn't have worked.

Elthin had also tried to find anyone who could have helped them. But no one was around and with little options left Elthin even though he didn't want to do it. Tried to give up Lucine to the Inquisition which only led to Lucine feeling hurt and betrayed by what he had done. Elthin told everyone he tried to explain himself. The Inquisition guard had said he had till 7 this evening to make a final choice of handing Lucine over or not. And in the meantime Lucine was out alone in the city having run away from him.

Elthin let everything he had said sink in as a heavy silence filled the room.

"I know what I did was wrong and clearly didn't want to do it. But what was I suppose to do stand and fight and die along with her or run away and become a wanted criminal? I didn't know what to do and that was the only option that popped into my head."

Elthin, not wasting a moment, reeled off the tragic tale of his betrayal of Lucine to the gathered trio. Freya was perhaps the only one who did not show any signs of dislike towards it.

"You're mean." Willow interjected once Elthin had finished. "Selling Lu off to people she don't know."

"Weren't you meant to be keeping her safe?" Syl questioned. "Selling her off isn't being a good parent."

"Girls, please." Freya cut in. "I know it sounds bad but there was really not much of an alternative. Elthin only did it to protect Lucine and not because he wanted to."

That seemed to curb the younger duo's complaints, leaving Freya taking charge once more.

"Knowing how children act when upset, there's really only one place she could've gone to, and I think she'll be safe enough there. She's got connection who won't let harm come to her in that place." Freya began. "I'd suggest that you let her cool off a bit before trying to find her so she has a chance to think things through as well. Jumping in too soon will only make matters worse.

"As for suggestions for ways out of this, we've got a while before the appointed time, so we could brainstorm any ideas we have. We're sure to find some way out of this. We have to."

Everyone there took in what Elthin had said Freya seemed calm about it. While both younger girls seemed to drill into him about what he had done. He didn't even try to defend himself from their questions and jabs. Freya then spoke up again a little later which calmed things down for a bit.

"For starters I believe we should let Duke Trent and The Elder know. About what has happened so far as they need to be informed" Elthin said. He was busy trying to think up ideas on what they could do he did want to go out and try and find Lucine. But it'd be for the best to give her some time to herself. "If things get really bad we may have to leave the city"

Elthin was losing hope in their safety inside the city walls.

"They may be able to help us think up ways around it. Honestly, even Zena may be able to help with this as well, if she's willing to cooperate with you, her 'Arch-Nemesis'." Freya answered. "Leaving the city won't help much at all as they'll keep hunting until they get what they want."

Freya mentioned that they might be able to help out even with Zena. Being added into the mix when Freya mentioned about leaving the city Elthin spoke up again. "It might have been able to buy us some time if you could sneak her out in a airship. As I wouldn't be joining you I'd be turning myself in to help buy everyone time."

Elthin's idea included self-sacrifice and the one thing none of them had any immediate access to.

"You're a complete and utter idiot if you think turning yourself in would help in any way. Did you even stop to think about how that might affect the ones close to you?" Freya questioned, a slight hint of anger in her voice. "Lucine wouldn't want you to do something like that, even if she's still angry at you when the time comes. Who'll look after her then? Who'll teach her how to use magic? Who'll help her grow up healthy and strong?"

Freya seemed angry about Elthin's self-sacrifice.

"Do, you even know what I'm going through?" Elthin questioned. He knew what he had said earlier was a dumb idea but he wanted to keep Lucine safe even if it ment his own downfall. "There'd be no one who would be able to do that. But don't you think that I want all those things for her. I wish this whole thing had never happened."

"What's happened has happened, all we can do now is find ways to correct it, and that's not going to happen if we just stand around her placing blames and coming up with completely ludicrous ideas." Freya countered. "We need to think as one if we want to find ways around this."

"Okay, okay" Elthin said.

He once more tried to think up ideas.

"We, know that the Inquistion will keep Lucine safe for the time being. If they get their hands onto her there is also a chance that. They might still be searching for her right this moment I say someone should go out and find Lucine by bringing her here."

"I doubt they'll try and take her before they agreed to. The Inquisitor you talked with sounds like the same one the Duke talked with, and she seems to be true to her word, if a little abnormal by Inquisitor Standards." Freya answered. "It's best to let her be by herself for now. She's likely trying to come to terms with everything herself."

"Are the Duke and Zena coming here?" Syl asked. "I wanna see Zena again."

"They're busy with building stuff." Willow interjected. "They're not gonna come all the way here."

"It's worth a try." Freya suggested.

"She did seem rather shocked about my sudden change in what I had done. I think it'd be best to try and learn more about this Inquisitor. Maybe if we can befriend her we can have someone on the inside who can let us know things?" Elthin said.

The Duke and Zena might be coming.

"Seeing Zena again might now be so bad"

"Befriending an Inquisitor is a lofty dream." Freya answered. "They're not one for making relationships outside of the Inquisition. However, I think there's just something about this one which could make that dream a reality."

Elthin seemed all for the idea of the Duke and Zena coming to Brascus once more.

"Give them a call and explain to them the situation. The Duke has a soft spot for Lucine. I can tell." Freya suggested to Elthin. "Zena will also keep Syl and Willow busy while we discuss ways around this."

"Well, I can try later on to engage in small talk with this girl"

Elthin was needed to speak with the Duke and Zena. "May I use you communications device to contact them and let them know what is going on?"

"Maybe when the time comes you could try and barter with her." Freya answered.

Elthin asked if he could use the Communication Device in the Apothecary to contact Duke Trent and Zena.

"Would I have suggested it if I didn't intend you to use it?" Freya asked, rhetorically. "It's in the back room, to the right of the doorway."

"I'll be back shortly then" Elthin said. He headed for where Freya pointed out where the device was being stored. "Maybe I can barter with her never know" He left the room and headed into the back room. Once there he turns on the Communication Device. Letting it warm up and act on it's own when that was all done.

Elthin used the device to try and contact Duke Trent and Zena. He first tried to contact Zena as she might be the one who was free at the moment.

Elthin booted up the communication device and first looked to contact Zena. It felt like the connection was't going to a similar device, but, rather, a more complicated one. The base mechanisms of the communication relay were the same, but the lines of magical energy connecting the devices felt more...refined and flowed freely rather than statically from one place to another. Eventually, the device connected and Zena's picture, despite the archaic mechanisms of the Communication Device on Elthin's side, appeared much more crisp and more like the mythical holographic projections which were said to be used in the time before the Great War. Zena didn't appear as full of moxie as she usually is and looked to be rather nervous of speaking like this.

"H-hello." Zena began, before noticing that she was speaking to Elthin. "Hwah?! I-it's you?" How'd you get my contact details?!"

Zena was then one who began speaking to Elthin.

"Yes, it's me I used my secret powers to gather you contact details. As I plan on capturing you for my own needs again. I'm just kidding I wouldn't do that sort of thing to you. The reason I'm calling is because I wish to speak with you and Duke Trent about Lucine. Some things have come up and I can use both your helps on matters outside my control."

"You truly are an evil villain!" Zena retorted. "Big Bro's busy at the moment working on a secret project which he won't let me see. I think he'll be willing to stop that for a bit to help if it's about that captive you hold. Just don't expect me to let my guard down around you. You'll kidnap me again."

"Think about me however you like," Elthin said dryly. He heard the Duke was busy with some sort of project. "Can you please go get him, let him know that it's an emergency and I no longer have Lucine in my care a present" Elthin told Zena.

"You can keep up your guard around me all you want just don't go having another accident. Around me please I don't want to clean up after you again"

"I don't need you to tell me to do that. I'll do it anyway." Zena countered. "So, you lost your hostage and you want help getting her back? I guess Big Bro's got time to play with you. I'll go and see."

The communication device which Zena was using appeared to move with her as she began to exit what looked to be her bedroom, if the decor was anything to go by.

"I'm not a baby!" Zena shot back as Elthin probed her more on her earlier unfortunate encounter. "You'd love to see that, wouldn't you?! Should I call the Enforcers right now?"

Despite the sudden tension between the pair, Zena dutifully went about her task, heading towards a cellar room down some stairs, which was more than likely a workshop. Knocking on the door, she called through to the Duke, keeping up with calling him 'Big Bro'. Regardless of the clarity of Zena's communication device, it still was not powerful enough to transfer sounds from rooms outside of the surrounding area. There was some exchange between the pair before Zena resumed speaking to Elthin.

"Big Bro said he'd be done in a few minutes. I don't think he's gonna stop for your carelessness of misplacing a girl."

"She wasn't my hostage and it was beyond my control and yes I'd like some help," Elthin said calmly. Zena left for a few moments then spoke again to him. "I could care less about seeing that"

Zena left again and then spoke with the Duke and Zena then came back.

"It wasn't my carelessness!" Elthin snapped at Zena. It appeared that Zena had struck a nerve with that last remark. "I met with the Inquisition and even though I didn't want to I gave Lucine up"

"Got on the wrong side of the Law?" Zena sighed. "Kidnapped some more girls in broad daylight?"

After the exchange between the Duke and Zena, and her information to Elthin, the communication between the pair was soon ended as Elthin began to abuse Zena.

"Go find her on your own!" Zena shouted back, looking quite tearful after being shouted at herself. "We're not helping you!"

The communication device then suddenly shut off before Elthin could must've ended the interaction on her end, which wasn't something normal Devices for that sort of thing could do.

Elthin was truly beginning to grow annoyed with Zena's words to him. He wanted nothing more then to put her in her place. "Will you just stop it" Elthin asked. But when he had shouted back at her Zena shut off the device and said they weren't going to help him.

Elthin just left the room and started towards the doors leading outside. He stopped by Freya first "I wasn't able to get the help I needed I'll do this on my own."

After the communication with the only potential lifeline was forced to a stop, Elthin decided to take matters into his own hands, but Freya had other things in mind.

"You'll get nowhere doing this on your own. You need help for this. You'll be heading towards your own execution if you go into this without a solid plan." Freya lectured Elthin. "Have you truly exhausted all the help you could call upon? You must have others who will be willing to assist?"

"I know I need help for this!" Elthin countered and then sighed. He knew that Freya was just trying to help him out but Elthin was once again upset. "Maybe you can talk to Zena get her to change her mind. I'll try contacting The Elder he might be able to help us out."

"I'll see what I can do, but I can't make any promises. Zena's stubbornness is one of her more prominent personality traits." Freya answered. "The Elder may not be able to physically help, but he is a good source of knowledge. He knows more about the Mainland than anyone else in this City."

"Well, you can always try the Duke. I was told he'd be done with his business shortly" Elthin told her. She spoke about The Elder who was good for knowledge. "I'll see what I can find out from him." Elthin headed back into the backroom. He booted up the device once again and this time tried to contact The Elder.

After decisions were made, Elthin headed back to the Communication device and tried to contact the Elder. The connection this time was a lot slower and had returned to its usual grainy appearance.

"Greetings. Any new leads on what we've been looking for?" The Elder asked once the connection was stabilised.

"Greeting, Elder" Elthin greeted him.

"That isn't why I'm contacting you today. I could use some help in a personal matter I met with the Inquisition today." Elthin told him. He was silent for a time before passing on all the details of what happened earlier with Lucine and himself along with what had happened. With the Inquisition as well he left nothing out.

Elthin relayed the reason behind his contact, leaving no detail out. The Elder looked to be pondering every situation Elthin was placed and and deeply considering all alternatives.

"You had no other option." The Elder began. "Even so, this Inquisitor you met does not seem to be like the others. She seems...human. Most Inquisitors would have just killed you and taken Lucine, and killer her if she resisted. In Inquisition is like a gathering of this world's most Emotionless beings. They care not for anything but their goal, and anything that gets in their way is nothing more than an obstacle which should be disposed of. If you can, I would suggest talking to her and seeing if you can bring her round to your side. Get her alone, and then she will not be much of a threat. She is still not an opponent to be trifled with, as she is still and Adept and a master Swordswoman. Under no circumstances try to engage her in combat, as you will surely be hard pressed for victory."

After Elthin told the elder everything he listened to what their thoughts were on the matter.

"I wish I had another one but you are right." Elthin said. "I had thought of trying to befriend her or at least get to know her. As this would be to our advantage to have someone on the inside who can help us out with things. As you know I am to meet up with her later I can try talking to her then to see what her thoughts on this matter is." Elthin spoke.

He thought for a while.

"Do you think that the Inquisition might do any harm to Lucine?" Elthin asked.

"Take every opportunity you can to find the peaceful way out of things. There has been enough needless bloodshed in this world." The Elder answered. "It may be near impossible to even begin to consider to being able to befriend an Inquisitor, but there is always the possibility that it may happen, even if it is more of a mutual alliance for a while rather than a long-lasting friendship."

Elthin asked a question which even the learned Elder had no direct answer to.

"That I cannot say. We can only hope that it does not come to that."

"Is there always a chance we can be working towards them same goals?" Elthin asked. He tried to think on how he could befriend the Inquisitor. Then another thought came to him and he waited for a moment to ask it.

"What can you tell me about the mainland like what is the city of Elenveir like?" Elthin asked.

"There is always a slim chance, though they may not be willing to include you in their work." The Elder answered.

Elthin then asked about Elenveir and the Mainland.

"The city of Elenveir is the pinnacle of Magi-tech development. The entirety of the continent is covered by a powerful Magi-tech barrier from and Archeotech relic. Instead of taking the complete power of the Magician's Guild to maintain this barrier for no more than a few moments, this device completely encompasses the whole continent, running off an unknown power source which never seems to run out. The city is so vast that it nearly covers the complete body of the continent. It even requires teleportation to move between some sections as they just cannot be reached on foot. The continent is mainly built on levels, both vertical and horizontal, and each rung of society lives on a different level. The only thing which is consistent between each section is the Archmage's palace, which is as tall as the City is on levels, and as wide as the top half of the Continent. It could be counted as being a city in and of itself."

"Would they also be trying to search out or find any info on the Dragons. Like I'm currently undertaking?" Elthin asked.

The Elder then spoke to him about Elenveir and the Mainland.

"Where was this Archeotech relic found?" Elthin asked. As he listened to more of what the Elder said. "Have you ever been to Elenveir? Just hearing about what you've told me about it makes the ciry sound very interesting but. Wouldn't there be problems with having a city that big?"

"The Inquisition do not hunt stories told to children to make them behave." The Elder replied. "They believe that Dragons are no more than fairy tales told to children, or the drunken ramblings of fools who are drowning in alcohol."

Elthin asked a little more about the Mainland.

"The Inquisition are keeping that piece of information closely guarded. Some people believe that it was also recovered from the Old Palace along with the Airship, like it was left there specifically for some reason by the Lost Generation. Why they may have done so, and why it was created are as much unknown as all things regarding the Lost Generation." The Elder explained. "I have only been to the Archmage's Palace for that meeting, and I was escorted by Inquisitors the entire way, so I did not really have much of a chance to explore the city, almost like they were trying to hide something. There are always inherent problems for having anything as large as an Island is, but the Inquisition help to reduce or completely counter some of the problems."

"But still it should be something that would need to be looked into. At least at some point in time, I believe that the dragons might show themselves" Elthin said.

The Elder explained more on the Mainland.

"So, even the Inquisition has things they wish to keep secrets on. From what I've learned from you so far. It seems like perhaps they are trying to hide things. As for what that certain thing is I have no idea. Maybe it can be more to do with the Archeotech or maybe something else." Elthin stated.

He thought on everything that was said.

"I should also mention this to you but yesterday Lucine and I were attacked," Elthin explained. Telling The Elder everything that happened to them yesterday about the whole attack with the ground shaking and mini tornado.

"Maybe so, however, we have nothing but rumours and drunken ramblings to go on." The Elder confirmed. "The Dragons have been extinct for centuries, nearly a millennia. Any traces of them are so inconclusive that we cannot prove their return."

Elthin gave his views on the Mainland.

"Maybe they are, maybe it's just paranoia. The Inquisition are so secretive that nobody knows the truth." The Elder answered. "While the Mainland may have claimed most Archeotech, other places may still have some forms of it left behind, waiting to be rediscovered."

Elthin then went on to explain about the attack from the previous day.

"Search the attack site for any clues. If they have left anything behind, then we may be able to trace their motive and who may have sent them." The Elder instructed. "Leave nothing to chance. If it was a targeted attack and not a feint, then we must know."

"Maybe my search into this whole matter might change things. It's a long shot but there's always a chance" Elthin said.

The Elder spoke.

"Can you tell me about the airship that was found. Was it the same one that came here earlier or is it The Arch Mage's own personal flagship?" Elthin asked.

The Elder explained his thoughts about the attack.

"I had found some footprints but that's nothing to really go upon just yet. But I have a feeling that attack must have been a targeted one. As there is always a chance someone else knows about Lucine."

"Perhaps that may be so, but we have yet to find any conclusive evidence." The Elder answered.

Elthin asked about the recovered Airship.

"As one would expect, it is the Archmage's private Flagship. All other Airship designs, both in the Mainland and Argenta, are based on the blueprints recovered and the living legend of the Archmage's Airship. Nothing we can create at present can even come close to the complexity of the Original. The Original seems to run, not on the conventional fuels like the copies, but on the Elemental forces in the world themselves, giving it effectively limitless potential and power."

Elthin explained his findings at the site of the attack,

"Keep searching if you can. See if you can track the footprints. If not, they may have left a latent trail of Ley Energies from using the stones which you could follow. However, you'd need to hope that they have not disguised the flow of Magic from themselves to the Earth."

Elthin learned the Airship was the Archmage's personal flagship. He then learned more about the ship as the Elder spoke.

"If I ever had the chance I'd like to travel to the Mainland to study the Flagship. Let alone the Palace it all seems like a adventurers paradise. But with the Inquisition running the show I don't think I'd be able to do as I wished.

"I'll see what I can find out and let you know the results. I should be out there searching for Lucine as there is always the chance she might be in trouble."

"The Mainland is indeed a researcher's haven. It has almost all of the recovered Artifacts from before the Great War and the time of the Lost Generation. However, without the Archmage's permission, you will not be able to even look upon the Flagship, let alone study it. It is, after all, an Artifact from a time my advanced than ours." The Elder explained.

"That girl can do a fine job of handling herself against the more common of problems, but, if she comes up against a more skilled Magician, then you may have to step in." The Elder answered. "Recovering Lucine if of great importance, but do not forget the dangers of leading the enemy to her. We are unsure of whether there are Spies inside the City or not."

Elthin wished to know more and the Mainland and perhaps travel there. As all his dreams would become a reality. "Perhaps sometime I can tell you about my homeland while I'm not sure if you've ever visited it before. I'm sure you may find it fascinating"

The Elder spoke about Lucine.

"I believe there are Spies here perhaps they are even closer then we know" Elthin pointed out.

"Artaria is one continent which I find too cold for my old bones. I've only ever read about it in travel journals." The Elder answered. "There's said to be ruins hidden under the bluffs and glaciers. I'd like to discover what secrets they may hold."

Elthin voiced his concerns for Lucine's safety.

"We can never rule out the possibility." The Elder replied. He then stopped for a bit, pondering the direction the conversation has taken. "I believe we've...deviated a little from the original reason for this contact."

"Artaria can be rather cold and there are some ruins that have been. Found under the bluffs and glaciers." Elthin told him.

While Elthin wished to tell The Elder more about his homeland he had a pressing matter.

"Yes, I believe we have I'm sorry for that. I shall contact you again later today to let you know how my meeting with the female inquisitor went. But for now I'll go and gather Lucine and try to explain things to her."

"Best of luck to you. May your chosen Deity favour you." The Elder finished. "If she is as your friend, the Duke, pointed out, negotiations should not be too difficult. You just need to come to a compromise which will benefit the both of you."

After the conversation had ended, the Communication was closed down.

The Communication was closed down and Elthin started to head out.

"I'm going to go find Lucine and bring her here." Elthin informed Freya and the others.

After closing communication, Elthin decided to go and search for Lucine.

"Take one of the girls with you. Safety in number, after all." Freya instructed Elthin. "They may also make it easier to coax Lucine back. I've managed to prepare a single draught which should allow you to become undetectable, both by sight and Magical sight, for no more than two minutes. Use it when the time demands it. While it may not affect you, the draught is made with ingredients which can be rather...detrimental to bladder control, which is another reason I strongly advise you to use **only if necessary."**

Both Syl and Willow looked rather taken aback by the indication that using this draught, while the perks may be good, also came with a crippling drawback.

"While you're out, I'll see if I can win back The Duke's favour."

Freya told Elthin to take one of the girl's with him. As it might be easier to coax Lucine back. Along with a single draught.

"I'll try not to have things come to that." He could see both girls didn't like the thoughts. Of having to use the item.

"I'll take Syl with me" Elthin told Freya as he headed to the door. After mentioning Syl to follow him and taking the draught from her.

Syl, being the one chosen out of the pair, didn't seem to realise she was the one being called upon, until it finally dawned on her.

"Wha? M-m-m-ME?!" Syl questioned in shock. "W-w-w-why?! Willow's much better than me,"

"Better you than me." Willow commented with a small smile. "I like dry panties."

Eventually, Syl followed along with Elthin, keeping close but also a slight distance, and eyeing the dreaded draught with venom. She clearly didn't like the thought of having to down it, but, if the situation demanded...

"Because Lucine likes you most and get's along with you really well." Elthin told her. He had no plans on using the draught on Syl. They left and headed towards Elthin's home there was a chance that Lucine might have returned there.

"Really? Is that why?" Syl questioned, not quite sounding like she believed that was the sole reason for bringing her along. It appeared that Lucine's well-being was the only reason she'd actually agree to this if her repeating 'This is for Lu.' under her breath most of the way was anything to go by.

Elthin's first stop was his own house. However, the doorstep was vacant and Lucine was nowhere to be seen. Only one other place...

"Yes, Lucine sees you as a true friend." There was more reasons but Elthin wasn't going to tell her. What he had heard them doing in the bath the other night. Which was sure to be another reason why Lucine liked her.

Elthin tried his home and saw that the doorstep was vacant. This left him with only one other place to try he headed towards her old house in the Slums with Syl.

"Really..." Syl continued, still not sounding completely convinced. Her stare at the draught was possible her expectation for an 'ulterior motive'. Lucine did like to spin tall tales, after all...

Noticing that Lucine was nowhere to be found at Elthin's house, he headed towards the Slums. Just before approaching the entrance, Syl quickly pulled Elthin behind a street stall and tried to push his head under the cover of the counter top. He reasoning behind this was a simple.

"Inqi patrol." She informed Elthin in a whispered voice as she looked towards a pair of official looking Military personnel stalking the empty streets. "Wait them out?"

Before they could enter the Slums Syl pulled Elthin back behind a street stall. Then pushed his head under the cover of it.

Elthin peaked over the top and saw the Inqi patrol. He lowered his head and looked at Syl "we will wait them out."

Syl just nodded in response, not wanting to allow any noise to give their position away.

Whether it was down to just desperation to not have to drink the glorified diuretic, or her enhanced hearing and sight from having Animalia Cat genes in her, Syl managed to point out the patrol before they fully rounded the corner. They were, actually, a fair distance away, but closing in on the pair's location at a steady pace. Waiting them out, at their current walking speed, would possibly take a little over three minutes. The pair could, in contrast, dash around the corner and hope to not be spotted, but that came with its own problems.

Elthin thought over what sort of options they had. Waiting them out was going to take some time they could use the draught or run around the corner. Hoping not to be seen but Elthin didn't want to do those two options at all. So, he and Syl waited as the Inqi made their way towards them. "I think we might see more of them once inside the Slums. We might have to use the draught which I don't want to do." Elthin whispered to Syl.

"We're **not** using it." Syl firmly, yet still quietly, retorted. "We'll find Lu, get her out and get back without having to use it. All we need to do is read their movements, see when they're not looking our way, and make our moves then. If we're really sneaky-sneaky like, we'll get this done in no time."

"Would you like to take the lead or should I?" Elthin asked. As he once again peaked over the top to watch the Inqi moving towards them then lowered his head. He went on counting the seconds until they would pass them by.

"If you're that bad at hiding and spotting, I don't think I'll have a choice if I wanna get through this without drinking that thing." Syl sighed in response. "They'll pass us in around fifteen seconds, get ready to move quickly and quietly. If you knock anything over, I'm not helping you."

Placing his faith in the sense of a part Animalian, Elthin counted the seconds until the Inquisition patrol passed them by. Right on the fifteenth second, Syl quickly moved from her hiding spot and rounded the corner into the Slums.

Elthin was fine at hiding he'd done this sort of thing before. He said nothing back and slowly counted to fifteen. And as Syl moved from the hiding spot Elthin followed after her and they both rounded a corner. Moving slowly Elthin looked around for any other sets of Inqu as they moved forwards.

After the pair had moved from one hiding spot to another, Syl began looking out for more patrols.

"Not so many here at the entrance. They're probably further in. Why they're in the Slums, I don't know." Syl informed Elthin. "Where's Lu's old house? How far in is it?"

"They might be looking for Lu I'm not sure" Elthin says.

They moved forward and hid in some places just to make sure no other Inqu were around. "Lu's old house is further inside the Slums just a few minutes away."

Given an estimated time between their current location and there destination, Syl began to think up a plan of action.

"If they're looking for her, then they're obviously not looking hard enough. Even so, why would they be looking for her when you've agreed to meet up again later?" Syl began. "Lu's likely not hiding, so they're possibly just ensuring that nothing happens to their target, meaning that there may be a number of patrols near where Lu's old house is."

"Maybe they are just here to keep the peace and make sure nothing happens?" Elthin said. They walked along as no other guards were around them. "If there are then that means we may have trouble getting close to Lu."

"That's not likely if what Sis says about the Inqi is true." Syl answered. "Sis says the Inqi only care about themselves and not others."

Jumping from cover to cover, the pair managed to sneak past the first few patrols in the Slums. As they neared their target, the patrols got more frequent and were mostly stationary, posting two Peacekeepers on either side of the pathways in a zigzag motion, covering each other's blind spots across the path, making it very hard to sneak by.

"We must be getting close." Syl commented. "These ones don't look like they're gonna move."

"If they do they do but the one I talked to earlier she seemed different some how." Elthin whispered.

As the moved deeper into the area more and more patrols were around. Making there movements much slower. They also had a hard time sneaking by and soon came. Upon a pair of Inqi that weren't moving this put them in a bind.

"We need to get by them somehow any ideas?" Elthin asked.

Elthin, despite being the older and more versatile of the two, turned to Syl for direction to pass by the stationary pairs.

"I don't know, you're the Magician!" Syl countered, sounding a little exasperated. "Use some Magicky-hocus-pocus to distract them! Move a tavern sign with wind, or whatever you can do. Just get them so they're not looking at us.

"I can use the draught on you instead!" Elthin countered. Growing annoyed that Syl was making it seem like Elthin was useless at this sort of thing. Turning from her he looked towards the Inqi and placed his hand on the ground. Muttering something quietly several snowballs white in color were formed above the Inqi's heads and then fellow upon them trying to blind them.

"You'd just love to see that, wouldn't you?!" Syl shot back, sounding quite annoyed.

Eventually, Elthin took the lead and decided to do a rather direct attack at one of the patrol units. A small collection of snowballs fell from the sky onto one of the Patrol Unit's heads, prompting some rather confused chatter in battle-tongue, one language which only the most proficient of Military trained people are taught. A ear-splitting bang was heard, followed by two clangs as the patrol fired off their rather strange looking firearms just above where the snowballs fell from.

"Smart move, genius!" Syl scolded Elthin. "Now all of them will know something's going on! Couldn't you have dropped them on the sign, or something?!"

Using the momentary cover of noise and confusion, Syl quickly scampered along, jumping from building to building as the patrols spread about the Slums were all congregating around their previous position. An order in battle-tongue, from a familiar sounding female voice, dragged the chaos back to some organisation.

"Fan! Search! Duo!" The Inquisitor Captain ordered the Patrols. "Track! Ley! Prints!"

"Oh, yeah I'd love to see that!" Elthin said in a mocking tone which sounded totally annoyed. His trick fell onto one of the Patrol Units heads, prompting some battle chatter among them. Then a bang was heard and two shots were fired.

"Be quiet!" Elthin ordered.

Elthin heard the familiar sounding voice and knew it was coming from the captain he had. Talked to earlier in the day moving slowly Elthin moved around the best he could. Having stopped using his magic if worse came to worse he'd use the draught on himself.

As the Inquisitor troops regained some composure, they followed the orders from their Captain and began to spread out, leaving no corner of the Slums or city without at least a pair of Peacekeepers on patrol. The previous lax nature of the Patrol groups was replaced by a rather organised march, allowing them to cover double they ground they did before in half the time. Some of them were even using intriguing looking plain white marble stones, which glowed when near the presence of anything of minor magical origin.

Syl had totally abandoned her careful advance for a more tricky route. She clambered up the side of one of the Slum Dwellings and began vaulting from roof to roof and wall to wall, making no sound from either the vaults or the is possibly where the Panther part of the genes she has in her come from. Strangely, she also seems to have adopted a pair of panther ears and a tail as she continued to vault and dive from dwelling to dwelling.

Seeing as how it was much harder to get around since his little trick. Didn't work the way Elthin had wanted it to he decided to try another method. This would at least let Syl reach Lu while he tried to distract everyone again. When they were near each other again Elthin spoke to Syl. "You go on ahead Lu's house is just down the path to the right. I'll stay here to by you some more time." Elthin told her.

He waited until Syl was well enough away from him before he spotted the female captain. When the others were busy else where down the road Elthin stepped out into the daylight. He started to walk towards her.

"Don't be an idiot!" Syl countered. "Use the thing! That;s what Sis gave it to you for!"

Sticking by her earlier statement, Syl continued acrobatically flipping and vaulting along the way towards Lucine's house while Elthin did a more obvious distraction. He spotted the Inquisitor commander and began to head towards her. She was still ordering some of the more addled Peacekeepers around in Battle-Tongue, but most of her words were lost among all the other complicated strategies milling around the Peacekeepers. However, one thing she said wasn't in Battle-Tongue, for unknown reasons.

"Keep the Mark safe! Let nothing touch her!" The Inquisitor Commander ordered. "If she gets so much as a scratch on her, you'll pay!"

One of the Peacekeeper patrols noticed Elthin's advance and pointed their firearms at him.

"Halt!" They ordered. The Inquisitor Commander caught on to the Peacekeeper's actions and turned to Elthin.

"This area is off limits to all civilians." The Inquisitor Commander informed Elthin." And that goes for people related, or even just looking after, the Mark. I thought this Chaos was caused by someone with a little too much time on their hands. Come to give your answer?"

Elthin handed Syl the draught before he left. "You'd better use it as I need to talk with her anyway."

After he was gone he heard the captain speak about keeping Lucine safe. At least they were not going to be harming her anytime soon. The one Peacekeeper spotted Elthin and told him to stop. Which he did before the captain spoke to him.

"Yes, I've come to give you my answer about the Mark. While I have sworn to protect her even though I didn't do a good job. I believe she would be better off with me then with you. I'm not sure if you will truly keep the Mark safe or kill her if she doesn't join or give you the answers you are seeking. But my answer is I will not give her over to you I'd rather try and talk things out first."

Due to the distance between the pair at present, Elthin had to throw the draught up to Syl, who deftly caught it while flipping from one roof to another.

"I'm not drinking it!" She shouted back before leaving the immediate area.

Elthin, in his little discussion with the Mastermind behind this city on lockdown, explained his diplomatic intentions.

"So you consider yourself a orator, do you?" The Commander questioned. "I'd rather talk than kill, anyway. Killing is a dirty task."

Elthin explained that he believes he'd be the better one to take care of Lucine rather than leave her in Inquisitor hands.

"Ready!" She instructed the Peacekeepers, who all lowered their weapons, but kept them primed if things went downhill. "Shoot! Fight! Detain!"

While Battle-tongue was not a language for the untrained, it was relatively easy to pick up that the Commander only instructed the troops to shoot to detain only if the situation demanded. After giving her order, the Commander returned to her diplomatic negotiations with Elthin.

"It's not my place to defy the orders from the Archmage himself. It's under His instructions that I came to this sand-hole of a city. He's interested in this girl, though I don't know why. Maybe he just wants to execute a Witch himself in public display to discourage these Cults popping up all over the place? Or maybe he wants a Courtesan with some latent power to bear his children? Either way, the girl's got his interest."

Elthin heard Syl speak again but ignored her not wanting the Inqi to learn he had. Someone with him "Yes, I am as I know killing can be a dirty business I've killed some people myself and I can tell you it leaves a sick feeling in one's stomach." Elthin said.

Elthin even rose his hands to show that he wouldn't fiight them.

"If I was in your shoes I wouldn't wish to defy him either but. While I'm not sure as to truly why he's interested in her. I do know that executing the Mark in the wrong answer. And while the Cults have been popping up more lately I believe one of them might be linked to what happened here in the Slums the other day."

"It's not the act of killing which I don't like. It's the mess it leaves on my clothes and weapons. I hate cleaning blood and stuff off, it stains easily." The Commander replied.

Elthin tried talking the Commander into allowing Lucine to live,

"Why would I care what happens here? This backwater place is weeks away from the Mainland by sea. It's not like any Cultist here could breach the barrier around the Mainland." The commander answered. "If the Archmage tells me to kill someone, I'll kill them. If He tells me to seduce someone, I'll be a little annoyed, but will do it. If He tells me to take out a continent at the cost of my own life, then I am bound to serve. It's not me you need to be talking around, it's the Archmage, and I doubt your paltry diplomacy could win Him over."

"Then why take a sort of job like this if you hate getting blood on your clothes and weapons?" Elthin asked.

The Commander gave her thoughts.

"That I don't know only you can know that answer." Elthin who already knew about the barrier around the Mainland said nothing at first. "There is always a chance that someday that might happen you can't rely on your barrier forever." Elthin said. "Sadly I've never met the Archmage before but if I could set up a meeting with him to try and discuss the Mark's fate maybe he'd be willing to listen. If not then there is nothing I can do."

"Because it's either that or die." The Commander answered like is was common knowledge. "You should know that being the 'lesser gender' and being able to tap into the powers of Magic is not a good combination for survival. Though, I doubt you'll fully understand as you're not physically facing it."

Elthin proposed the idea of meeting with the Archmage. Silence hung over the group before the Commander burst out laughing.

"Really?!" She laughed. "You really think you can just simply request to see the Archmage? How dense are you?!"

"Would you rather of had me coming over here by trying to attack. Which would have given you the chance to kill me?" Elthin asked. "Also I don't rely on magic all the time I've trained myself to use other means of staying alive."

The commander burst out laughing at Elthin wanting to meet the Archmage.

"I'm sure he wouldn't even want to see me let alone hear my request." Elthin sighed. He then thought of doing something which he wasn't about to enjoy. But maybe it might change the Archmage mind if he was to ever find out who Elthin truly was that is if the Commander ever told him.

"Would the Archmage be willing to meet with a member of the Veldhar family. For I am Elthin Veldhar crown prince of Glacialis son of King Xalvandor and Queen Lillias Veldhar the currents rulers of Glacialis?" Elthin asked.

"Not really. Like I said, I hate getting dirty." The Commander repeated. "Either way, you're part of the 'Master Gender', and myself and the poor squirt with you, aren't. Seriously, Men look down on us and treat us like we're mentally deficient, now look how things have changed. We're still far behind being accepted, especially in this backwater city, and are seen as nothing more than sex objects or goods to trade for a few crates of food, or horses."

Despite the outright degrading of the statement from the Commander, Elthin still tried to defend his case.

"Spout out your titles as much as you want, I'm not interested in who I have to deal with to clear my Missions. You could be a reborn Dragoon for all I care, and I still won't treat you any differently." The Commander answered. "If the Archmage was interested in some ice-box of a Continent, He would've conquered it already."

"I don't look down on you in fact I don't even know you." Elthin told her. He listened to the rest of what the woman had to say to him. "Maybe in time things will change for you or change your way of thinking." Elthin told her.

Even with telling her who he was it didn't seem to help.

"I don't believe Artaria would stand around and let the Archmage conquer us. While he is the leader of the entire five continents and a very powerful magician. He might find out that we Artarians are more then a match for him and his armies."

"All men say that, yet it's just a bunch of lies." The Commander retorted with a theatrical sigh. "The squirt's little sister was sold off to a Whorer to become used goods in his brothels in Port Ralence. Hasn't she told you that? That was all because some rich poser like yourself was claiming to 'respect' girls and that he wanted to 'give her a good future'. Some future being a cum-dumpster for some fat merchants is."

Elthin prized the military might of his home country quite highly, but the Inquisitor wasn't impressed.

"If He came with his full might, it'll be either roll over and submit, or become fodder for the scavengers." The Commander answered. "How well could a castle's wall stand up to Aerial bombardment from and Archeotech Airship and some warships? Also, how could Magicians who can only control a single element stand up to an entire battalion of Adepts?"

"That's up to you to believe but not all men are like that." Elthin then learned that Lucine had a little sister he never knew that. "I never knew that" Elthin said after learning that he slowly got a feeling. Of way Lucine disliked his kind.

The Inquisitor spoke highly for the mainlands army.

"You will just have to find out for yourselfs if you ever come and try to attack us. But I will say this we have managed to use some of the Lost Technology in our weapons. Ships and other such things so we will be more then a match for you."

"That's probably because she may see you as that kind of person. Slum Dwellers are wise. They learn from the mistakes of their kind and, as kind of a genetic trait, instantly distrust anyone outside of their close circles." The Commander answered. "Don't take it personally. She probably hates everyone outside of the Slums."

Elthin 'claimed' that Glacialis had access to Archeotech Weaponry. This prompted another amused chuckle from the Inquisitor.

"Fat chance of that." She scoffed. "All Archeotech is property of the Archmage."

"One could try to change her mind given time but it'd take a lot of hard work." Elthin sighed. He had been trying to do something like that before things all went to hell.

"I'm not here to talk about our armies or Archeotech. I'm only here to talk about Lucine and once again I will not be handing her over to you."

"Could've fooled me." The Inquisitor sarcastically answered. "Now, as we've finished comparing cock sizes, let's get back to business."

Sneaking behind the houses on the other end of the slums were Lucine and Syl. They'd still yet to use the Draught, but Elthin's 'distraction' was enough to allow them to slip past mostly undetected.

"It's not like you have a choice in the matter, we're taking her from you. If you want to cling to the slim hope that you can keep her, we'll talk again later." The Inquisitor answered. She then returned to Battle-Tongue to command her troops. "Desist! Threat-Zero! Monitor!" After commanding the troops, she turned back to Elthin. "Take yourself and your little friends out of here before I change my mind. Stealing Inquisition property is punishable by Death. Thankfully, you've amused me enough to let you take the Mark and her little friend away. Just make sure you keep to your word later."

"Yes, let's get back to business."

Elthin wondered how Syl was doing and if she had found Lucine yet. He thought about ending the meeting here but still wanting to give Syl more time. The commander then spoke to him once again about some things.

"Again you can try but you will find it hard to get her from me. This isn't a threat or anything as I have a feeling I know what you plan to do with the mark." Elthin said. "I'll meet with you later and things will be talked over then." Elthin added. He left them alone and jogged further on into the Slums trying to find Lucine and Syl.

Elthin was insistent that he could keep Lucine.

"Do you really? Let's see if your assumption is right later, shall we?" The Inquisitor answered. "If you want your little friends, they're sneaking behind the tavern where you dropped snowballs on my troop's head. The Animalian one is quite skilled, but she's not got the disguising her trail down yet. She's left Alchemical Ley Energy everywhere."

After closing the discussion, Elthin headed to rejoin Syl and Lucine, who'd just reached the Slum Entrance.

"If you are challenging me to a battle then it should be between you and me. Not you little minions standing behind you." Elthin says. She then spoke about his friends and where they had been Elthin would wish to know more about how they were able to track them. Plus if he did end up fighting against the commander he might be able to use the draught on her if given the chance.

With the talks over Elthin found both Syl and Lucine. By the Slum Entrance, he looked over at Lucine to see how she was doing. As he'd be the last person she'd want to see right now. "How's she doing?" Elthin asked Syl and then turned to Lucine.

"I know that you hate my guts right now and don't trust a word that comes out of my mouth. But I'd like to try and make things up with you by any way that I can. I know it's going to take time and energy to regain your trust but I'd like to try if you'd let me?"

Elthin insisted that if there was any duels going on, it should be Commander against opponent. A one on one.

"Like I'd do it any other way. They're just here to ensure that I don't get jumped by foolish people." The Commander answered. "If we're becoming Nemeses, I could at least introduce myself. Be grateful, as I never normally grace other people with this. My name is Ellara, Second Rear General Inquisitor of the Aquaven division of the Inquisition's Front-line Corps. The division name should hint at what I'm good at. You may refer to me as 'Inquisitor Ellara' only. Anything less than that is a severe breach of respect to my rank, 'Prince' Elthin."

Once the challenge was set and agreements came to, Elthin rejoined with his more stealthy compatriots.

"Broken, a shell of her former self, betrayed beyond redemption, seething with rage," Syl reeled off. "Other than that, she's doing just fine."

Elthin tried to talk with Lucine, but she simply just turned away and ignored him. He wasn't likely going to get her to talk for a long while.

Elthin before he rejoined the others learned the commander's name was. Ellara and while the challenge had been set there still had not set a place where it'd take place. That could happen later on and soon Elthin joined everyone.

"Did she talk with you?" Elthin asked. After he learned that Lucine was okay. He had tried to talk with her next but she refused to answer him. Instead, he just started out of the Slums with the others in tow.

"After spouting out every bad word in the book after hearing that you ordered me to go get her." Syl answered. "Freya would spank me into next week if I said even a few of the things Lu did."

After learning that Lucine would be non-compliant with communication, Elthin decided to make tracks back to the Apothecary. From the place they were in now, there was about three routes back to their destination. One took them through the site of the Sandstorm from the previous day, while adding a little more onto their walk. Another took them through the side-streets on a direct course to the Apothecary, which was the shortest route out of them all, and the third took them through the main plaza and Trading district heading towards the front of the city, which was the longest one to their destination.

"Just don't go saying anything of what you heard while Freya is around" Elthin advised.

Elthin decided it was best to take the side-streets to the Apothecary, as he needed. To speak with Freya about something important and while he wanted to check out the site of the Sandstorm again that'd wait until later when he returned home to fetch something.

"You don't have to tell me twice. I'd like to be able to sit down and not feel like my butt's on fire." Syl answered. "If you can, I think you should try and stop those kind of words. Freya won't care if she's not hers, she'll still spank her if we're around and she says them."

Ignoring the Sandstorm site for now, Elthin made tracks straight for the apothecary. Lucine had to take the lead sometimes to navigate the more tricky intersections, but they managed to reach the Apothecary in less than ten minutes.

"I'm not even sure Lucine will listen to me you've seen so, far how she acts around me now."

The three reached the Apothecary in less the ten minutes and after knocking and being. Let inside Elthin went to go see Freya to ask if she was able to get the Duke's help along with telling her something about himself.

Elthin reached the apothecary and was let inside by Willow.

"So, didja take it?" Willow grinned to Syl.

"No. And I'm not gonna take it." Syl curtly answered.

"That's too bad. I'm sure Elthin would've loved to have seen you squirming around, busting to let it all out."]

The banter between sisters carried on as Freya joined Elthin in the back room to discuss matters.

"The Duke's agreed to help us." Freya informed Elthin. "On a condition he didn't tell me. He said he'll discuss it with you when he arrives."

Elthin left Lucine with both Syl and Willow hoping that they would have. A better chance of her getting to open up. He then joined Freya in the backroom and they were alone.

"I'm glad that the Duke's agreed to help us did he tell you when he was going to arrive?" Elthin asked. Wondering what the condition was that the Duke wished to speak to him about. "There's something I need to tell you I haven't been entirely truthful in who I am. I'm actually the first crown prince of Glacialis."

Elthin asked when the Duke would arrive.

"He should be here within the hour, with Zena joining him. He's got to help calm Zena down first after your little scene with her." Freya informed Elthin.

Elthin then dropped the biggest bomb in conversational history, taking Freya by complete surprise, even going as far as making her unable to form coherent sentences.

"So you mean I...with a Prince...and we...on the floor...in the bath..." Freya stammered out. "Am I going to be executed for this? And should I call you 'Prince'? Or what...how...when...?"

Elthin learned that the Duke and Zena would be here in an hour's time. Then after he told Freya who he really was she was taken by complete surprise.

"No, no you won't be executed and just call me Elthin" Elthin says trying to calm Freya down some.

Elthin's sudden announcement took a little more effort than expected to return the conversation to normal.

"Next time, tell me that before we engage in the Mating Process." Freya sighed, finally returning to some semblance of her old self. "If I knew you were a Prince, I would've pulled out all I could to make it the best it could be."

"Sorry, I most likely should have told you sooner but its something. That I don't like telling people but I should tell that Duke and The Elder who I really am." Freya started to calm down. "I'll say it was the best I've had in a very long time."

"Don't drop it on the old man like you did on me. It might cause more problems." Freya answered. "However, he may already know, for all we know. Zena wouldn't really view you any differently. She'll still see you as a playmate for her make believe stories. The Duke is used to dealing with Royalty, so he may propose trading pacts based on what Artaria can offer."

Elthin confirmed that it was the best intercourse session he'd had in a long time.

"I'm glad I could fulfil your exotic tastes." Freya grinned back mischievously.

"I don't plan to drop this bombshell on the old man like to did you." Elthin learned that the old man might. Already know who he was seeing as knowledgeable as he was. He most likely did know and The Duke might propose an alliance or trading pacts with Artaria which can open up new roads.

"Just try not to let the others know about this or that for now." Elthin grinned back at her.

Elthin confirmed that he'd be a little more tactful with his next reveal of his true identity.

"They'll find out the joys of joining bodies with another when they're old enough." Freya informed Elthin. "Though, I'm not sure how experienced they'll be, or what traits they'll follow. Whether they'll do it like Tailless ones, or Animalia, will be down to whatever genes are dominant in the pair. Lucine, I'm not sure about either."

"Well whenever they do they do." Elthin spoke.

He didn't really want to wonder how Syl or Willow would be during sex when they got older. "Let's check on Lu to see how she's doing?" Elthin asked. He left the back room with Freya to rejoin the others.

"it'll be a long while yet. I don't want them to grow up too fast." Freya agreed.

Eventually, the pair decided to check on how Lucine was doing. While Syl and Willow still went about their sibling rivalry, Lucine was sitting alone at one of the workbenches just looking at some insects pollinating some herbs. she didn't seem to be joining in with the banter like she did earlier, and, in fact, didn't seem like her usual self at all.

When they entered the main room they saw that Syl and Willow. Were still doing their sibling rivalry while Lucine sat away from the others. She was quiet and looking at some herbs and insects. Elthin had thought that her friends might have been able to get through to her. But Elthin's betrayal of her trust had really messed her up.

"I don't know what to do with her now, I know I broke her heart but I don't want to see her like this."

Elthin was at a loss for direction when he saw Lucine in the state she was in.

"She's tougher than you take her. She's probably trying to still process all that's happened over the last couple of days. She's gone from a stable life, to an unstable one, back into a relatively safe life and now on the verge of being used for Inquisition purposes." Freya answered. "Girls don't always need coddling. Sometimes, it's better to let them work things out on their own."

Elthin was still watching Lucine as he heard Freya speak.

"That's almost too much for someone to bare. I'll leave her here for right now maybe in time she might say something to her friends. I need to head home to pick something up I'll be right back shortly." Elthin says as he heads for the door.

Excusing himself for a rather hasty exit, Freya was now at a loss for a response.

"Okay, be careful on your way back. You're still a target." Freya called after Elthin before he left.

Freya's last remark the end of it stopped him in his tracks. He had wanted to return home and gather up his sword and check out the Sandstorm area but. Didn't want to risk being attacked so he turned away from the door.

"Maybe later."

Elthin was just as random as normal, seemingly intent on leaving, only to come back before doing so.

"You're more unpredictable than a Chicken in a Wolf Den." Freya commented. "Do you ever make up your mind completely, or do you just like to live spontaneously?"

"That depends on what I want to do." Elthin replied.

He looked over at the girls to see if they stopped fighting amongest themselves and were trying to help Lu come out of her shell.

"Seems like you like to do random things, to me." Freya answered.

Elthin took a quick look at the squabbling duo across from Lucine. The argument had mostly died down, for now, but the pair wasn't looking like they'd made up. They seemed more fixated on their own problem than trying to get Lucine back to her old self.

Elthin walked over to both girls.

"How come both of you are not trying to help Lu out?" Elthin asked.

He wanted to see if they'd help him out.

Elthin tried to get between the bickering girls and intrude on their little stalemate.

"You stay out of this." They sternly answered in unison. "Girl talk. No boys allowed!"

"When they're like this, they'll not even listen to me." Freya cut in. "No use trying to talk them into doing anything until they've had their little spat."

The girls weren't going to help him out until after they were finished with their spat.

"I'll try myself."

Elthin walked slowly over to Lucine.

"Would you like something to eat?"

Elthin, noticing that he had no other option but his own words, decided to try and talk Lucine out of her silence himself.

No answer...

Lucine didn't even acknowledge he was there. She just kept staring at the plants and the aphids milling about on them.

"There may be some way you could get the others to give up their argument, but it won't be pretty." Freya interjected, breaking the silence over the pair. "We have one draught, and two girls. The argument started with the draught, and it may end with it. If you're willing to risk it, I'll tell you the recipe."

Again Lucine ignored Elthin and stared off into space.

"I'm not willing to risk having those to mad at me. I still have the draught and plan on maybe using it later when in combat not before. But I may know of a way that might help things out." Elthin said he turned to freya and thought of telling her about Syl swearing.

"If you know of a way to get those two stubborn troublemakers to kiss and make up, then go ahead and tell me. I'm always looking for a way to get them to listen when they're this fixated on causing trouble." Freya answered.

Elthin was about to tell Freya a lie and say that Syl had swore but. The more he thought on it the wrongness would get to him. Getting someone into trouble just to end a fight seemed a bad idea.

"Maybe not I'll try something myself." Elthin sighed.

He went over to the bickering pair and picked Syl up and carried her over to Lucine. "Why not give her a hug?" Elthin asked to Lu as she set Syl down before her.

Elthin, realising how bad his idea was, soon thought against it.

"There you go again being random." Freya sighed.

Elthin then went over to the arguing duo, and abducted Syl, much like he did Zena the previous day, ignoring the angry rants and rather weak kicks and punches from Syl, demanding to be 'Put down right now!'. He carried the thrashing girl over to Lucine, asked her to hug her, only to be rebuffed as Syl stormed over to Willow and resumed their stalemate.

Elthin once again was being random which seemed to annoy Freya. He abducted Syl and placed her in front of Lu who did nothing and Syl walked away to resume her stalemate with Willow. Elthin sighed and looked back to Freya and shook his head. He was going to later regret what he was about to do.

"I'm sorry to tell you this Freya but earlier today Syl swore and I mean swore a lot. I mean saying every bad word in the book. And this was when I mentioned I might be using the draught on her while we were searching for Lucine here." Elthin lied.

Elthin decided to bite the bullet and get Syl punished for something she'd never do. How cruel...

He explained (all lies) about Syl's little 'swear session' when Elthin suggested something she didn't want to do. At first, Freya looked as calm as normal, until Elthin had finished. Still, she kept a relatively calm outlook, but the slight hidden tones in her voice gave her away.

"So, she swore, did she?" Freya questioned, hints of anger in her voice aimed at the innocent target in question. "As I don't know how many words there are of that nature, I'll have to settle for ten. Please, excuse me for a moment..."

Freya then left the room and headed to the back room. A little while later, she returned with a rather painful looking wooden paddle. She hid this behind her back for now and resumed her usual calm tone.

"Sylvianna!" She called over to Syl, trying to sound as even as possible. "Can you come and see me for a moment?"

The pair's argument stopped, and Willow began to smirk.

"Full name. You're in trouble, 'Sylvianna'." Willow chuckled to Syl, who complied with the order, despite looking rather scared and nervous.

After doing the deed, Elthin was left to witness the outcome of his white lie. This wasn't going to be pretty...

"Y-yes, Sis?" Syl answered when she reached Freya, evidently trembling a little at the sudden request.

"I've heard you've not been completely ladylike when I wasn't there to keep watch of you." Freya continued, dragging on the punishment.

"W-what do you mean? I-I'm always good, really!"

"Using inappropriate unladylike language, followed by lying in the face of the truth, I think you need a little more 'motivation' to become a proper lady."

"But I didn't-!" Syl was about to protest before she was pulled over to a chair in the corner and laid across Freya's lap. "No! Please! I'm sorry, I'm really really sorry! Please, don't spank me!"

"If you can't take the punishment, don't commit the crime." Freya instructed Syl firmly.

Freya quickly pulled up Syl's skirt and pulled down her underwear just enough to show off her soft peach rear. Freya then bought up the paddle and slammed it firmly down on Syl's presented lower half, prompting a yelp of pain from the poor, framed, innocent. Each whack from the paddle prompted more yelps, screams and cries of pain from Syl, and more lessons from Freya about how to be Ladylike. Willow was just watching while stifling laughter. Around ten whacks in, a Freya had now upped the count to 15 due to Syl's 'lies', the cries of pain just turned into tears as a sudden pale yellow stream gushed forth from Syl's lower half, beneath her red rear. The punishment and the fear must've been too much for the poor girl to bear as she was now peeing full force while Freya was spanking her, soaking her underwear and noisily splattering across the wooden floor.

After the full 15 spanks, Freya covered up the now red-raw behind of the innocent bystander and ordered her to stand by the chair and not utter a single word until otherwise instructed. She didn't even give her a chance to change her pale yellow tinged panties, saying that the added humiliation will make her think about her actions more deeply. Once Syl was left, still sobbing and dripping onto the floor, she just kept her head down and tried to blend in with the woodwork. Freya took the slightly damp paddle back to the back room before returning to the main room to warn Willow about the consequences of not being a proper lady.

Elthin watched the events unfold before him as Freya and Syl spoke. Only for Freya to start spanking Syl moments later in which. Poor Syl ended up wetting herself Elthin took a look over at Lucine to see if she was watching her friend be punished. Wondering if she would step in and say anything.

Once everything was done he went over to Lucine and sat down next to her. He tried to do something small he reached down and gently and tried to hold her hand.

Elthin watched as the consequences of his white lie began to unfold in front of him, making the pure white innocent turn a shade of red and pale yellow. He tried to see if the dazed bystander by the herbs was reacting to any of this. Lucine appeared to tense up upon every whack of the paddle, and cry of pain from Syl, potentially feeling the pain Syl was going through on an empathetic level. Perhaps the kinds of punishments in the slums aren't too far from Freya's idea of a punishment.

Noticing the minor show of emotion from the previously doll-like girl, Elthin tried to do something small, like hold her hand. Lucine's response was to move her hand away from his.

Lucine moved her hand away from his and again he tried to grab it. Only for Lucine to move it away again. Elthin then sighed and got up and thought of yelling at her. But what good would that have done instead he walked away leaving her to rot in the corner like a piece of old fruit.

Elthin decided that he'd give up on the non-compliant girl.

Once the hubbub from the punishment had died down, the door to the Apothecary was opened, heralded by a obviously Chuuni girl.

"The Heroine of Justice has arrived!" Zena announced as she theatrically pushed the door open, allowing the afternoon sunlight to silhouette her appearance like stage lights before showing her in all her glory, with her legal Guardian following along behind her. "Your time has come, evildoers!" Zena finished her introductions, mainly aiming it at Elthin.

"Don't think I need to say we're here after all of that." The Duke added on while shuffling in behind the boisterous minor.

The door to the place opened up and The Duke and Zena arrived.

"I'm not in the mood for your game Zena not right now." Elthin said. He looked over at the duke and was glad to see him.

Elthin retorted to Zena's 'Heroine Introduction'.

"Like I'd wanna play with you now, meanie!" She countered. "I'm only here to see Syl and Willow"

"Zena's here!" Willow excitedly announced as she ran over to glomp Zena. "Got more cool stories to share?!"

Willow and Zena seemed to get along very well. They headed off to the back room section, possible going to Syl and Willow's bedroom to entertain one another. Syl just stayed in the corner trying to look as inconspicuous as possible.

"Someone's been a bad girl." The Duke commented upon seeing one of the usual playful trio standing in a corner looking sorry for herself. "Anyway, guess we'll come to that later. Business first,"

Duke Trent headed over towards one of the free stools by the botanical gardens and took a seat. He then turned to Elthin to begin discussing business measures.

"Freya told me something big's gone down in this quiet City. Guess the girl who commandeered one of our Carriers is the cause?" Duke Trent asked Elthin. "And the other little lady's gone and got herself in with the wrong crowd of interested people. You seem to have no luck with women, not that I'm really one to talk."

"Then leave me alone okay?" Elthin said calmly.

Willow and Zena then left the room which Elthin was thankful for. And The Duke spoke again about what happened. "Yes something big has gone down, I'm sure Freya has already told you the details of what happened earlier?" Elthin asked. "My taste in women is not really important right now."

"She's told me the gist of it, yeah, but I'm told you tried to pull off a little rescue mission." Duke Trent replied. "As the little lady's here, I take it you were successful. That'll irk them, that's for sure."

"Not like I wanted to be rescued, or even needed rescuing." Lucine cut in under her breath.

"She's a tough case." Duke Trent commented. "Says one thing but probably means the other. She'll get on just fine with my little troublemaker."

"Yes, I did and I was able to speak with the Ingi commander. Though I now have a match against her later it seems." soon enough Lucine spoke up. "If I had not come for you, there was a chance that you could have been captured if not killed." Elthin stated.

He looked back at the duke "I could also use your help in what to do about Lucine here?"

Elthin used Syl's word for the Inquisition, which prompted a rather puzzled look from Duke Trent, until it appeared to click just what Elthin had meant.

"Strange word for them, but I get what you mean." Duke Trent answered, "Don't underestimate her just because she looks like a fragile flower, she's got quite the mean streak to her."

Lucine just huffed in response to Elthin's interjection.

"If she's anything like Zena is, she just needs time to cool down. Though, if you got her into something where she just had to interact with you, and if it was dire enough, she may crack and give in." Duke Trent suggested. "You could try and win her over with gifts and things, but she's not that interested in material possessions as Zena is. She's just throwing a tantrum because you annoyed her a bit. She'll get over it soon enough."

"It sounds strange at first but the more you use it the easier it is to understand." Elthin pointed out.

Elthin listened to The Duke speak. Wondering how he was also going to tell him who he really was.

"Not really sure if I'd want to get her into that sort of situation. And gifts and things wouldn't work for her either. And I wouldn't call it annoyed more along the lines of being hurt." Elthin added in, He looked over to Syl who was still standing around then at Lucine.

"Why, not try and play with your friend?" Elthin asked.

"Guess it'll be easier for the little ones to pronounce," Duke Trent commented. "However, I'll stick to the full name. It'll just sound weird me saying it."

Elthin pointed out that he'd rather not cause more trouble for Lucine.

"You're just saying that to sound good. That's not what you did to poor Syl, liar." Lucine grumbled, only just loud enough for Elthin to hear.

"Doesn't seem like she agrees with you, if that rather muted complaint was anything to go by," Duke Trent answered.

Elthin tried, once more, to get Lucine to stop moping in a corner with the vegetation and actually do something, She didn't look like she was listening, again, until she pushed herself up from her seat and went over to Syl. She then picked Syl up, who looked a little surprised, and carried her into the back room, not caring about the sodden clothing on her. This even surpised Freya a little.

"Seems like she still cares for the others." Duke Trent interjected. "She's probably going to take Syl's punishment for her."

"So, you finally speak again" Elthin whispered back to Lucine. After he had heard what she had to say to him. "If she cares or not at least she spoke to me once again." Elthin pointed out.

He watched as Lucine finally moved herself over to where Syl was and picked her up. She carried her into the back room out of sight. "She doesn't need to do that."

Lucine just ignored Elthin once more, having already said her piece.

After seeing Lucine leave, Elthin gave his response to Duke Trent's observation.

"Maybe she doesn't, but she might not think that way." Duke Trent replied. "Whether the younger of the two really did cause trouble, or whether the blame was placed onto her by another, Lucine thinks that it's her fault as she was the root cause. She doesn't want to lose her friends, so she's willing to do anything to keep them, even if that means taking the fall for them."

Elthin ignored Lucine right back.

"It's still not her fault in that or maybe it is who knows." Elthin replied. He still didn't like what he had done but wouldn't say anything for now on things. "Oh, there is one other matter we need to discuss" Elthin said wondering how he was going to tell Duke Trent who he really was.

"Who knows, indeed." Duke Trent shrugged. "Girls are difficult, you can never fully understand their thought process. Even after spending so much time with Zena, I can never understand just what's going on in that head of hers. All of this 'Azure Princess' stuff is just beyond me."

Elthin was about to drop the bombshell of a confession again.

"Guess it can't hurt to hear it." Duke Trent answered.

Elthin was indeed about to drop another bombshell confession but he was. Trying to figure out the best way to tell the Duke.

"I'm not really who you think I am, you only know me as Elthin. But there is more to it than that which you still don't know about. What I'm about to tell you might come as a shock it sure shocked Freya when she learned who I was."

Elthin tried to subtly hint at his revelation, however, Duke Trent's jovial personality didn't quite get the severity of it all.

"Whatever it may be, it can't be as crazy as you think it is." Duke Trent answered. "You're not being that specific, but I highly doubt you're going to say you're a girl posing to be a guy, or claiming that you're the next in line to the throne of another continent."

Elthin listened to Duke Trent speak.

"Well, about that actually I am in line for the throne of Glacialis which in the ruling city. On Artaria in fact I'm the first crown prince of Veldhar family." Elthin confessed.

Elthin gave out his confession, catching on to the minor indication in Duke Trent's statement. At first, he didn't seem to believe him.

"I was joking. It's not like I wouldn't know a Prince when I see one." Duke Trent dismissed before catching a look from Freya. "Wait, you mean he's serious?"

"I couldn't believe it at first, either. However, as we've yet to receive solid proof to either support or dismiss his claimed lineage, we have to act accordingly." Freya explained.

"Okay, so maybe my jest wasn't as outrageous as I thought." Duke Trent replied. He then turned his attention back to Elthin. "Okay, guess you don't want me acting all different now, do you? You're still the same person struggling with a troublesome adopted Daughter."

The Duke at first didn't seem to believe Elthin until he spoke with Freya. Who explained things clearly to him.

"I can show you solid proof as that is all at my home. When things are taken care of I'll show it all to you?" Elthin asked. He listened for a while. "No, I'd just like you to act the same around me as you always have."

Elthin explained that he can provide proof when they next go to his home. He also agreed that nobody should act any differently around him.

"That's good. Formality is something I'm not good at. Zena, on the other hand, she's like the perfect little Lady for formal things. She may not look it, but she's more reserved when it comes to formal interactions." Duke Trent replied. "She's all for dressing up like a doll to attend parties and dinners, but I'm...well...as you seem me now. I find being covered in soot and oil stains to be more comfortable. These overalls are like my own formal dress."

"I know you were busy with some sort of project when I tried to talk with you earlier?" Elthin remembered. As he listened to the duke speak about Zena. "How is that project coming and is there anyway I can help you out some?" Elthin asked.

Elthin mentioned the project Duke Trent was working on and offered to be of assistance.

"Nice offer, but there's not much you can do to help, unless you're an artisan stonemason, or something." Duke Trent replied. "It's nearing completion, possibly going to be another few days. I'm not going to tell you what it is, because I want all of you to be at the Reveal of it, for several reasons. Zena's also in the dark about it, for reasons as well. I'll let you know the Grand Unveiling date when it's complete."

"Sorry but I know nothing of stonemasoning." Elthin told the Duke as he learning that. It was some grand project that the duke was working on. "If things work out I'll try and see if I can be at the unveiling but with things being so busy in my life at present. I'll have to let you know if I can attend because I don't know what other trouble I will be in with the Inquisition.

"I know how busy life can get. I'll see if I can requisition a recorder to capture it all in crisp quality if you can't come." Duke Trent answered. "You don't want to miss this one. It's the biggest thing Argenta has worked on since Steam Ferries."

"Again I'll try and be there." Elthin pointed out.

He walked around the room a little. "Anyway we are getting off track at the moment as we need to plan. Out some ideas on how we can deal with both Lucine and the Inquisition."

Elthin pointed out that they were getting sidetracked again.

"Well, I know that she's keeping something secretive in the Vehicle she borrowed. She refused to empty her Airship while myself or the Guards were present. We had to move inside the blockade's structure, where all the Guard Quarters were, before she'd even begin to empty her Airship." Duke Trent interjected. "She moved almost all the contents of the Ship into the Carrier, leaving nothing in the sleeping quarters, or the lower decks of the ship. I think that, if we can find out what she's hiding, we may gain a bargaining chip."

Elthin listened to the Duke.

"So, you believe that she's hiding something secretive I wonder what that could be?" Elthin thought on the idea. "I think that we should search her room and the ship for whatever it is that she is hiding. Is there anyway we can do this search without getting into trouble. Like what about a safty search to make sure she didn't bring anything harmful into the city?" Elthin asked.

"Don't we all want to know?" Duke Trent answered. "We're getting nowhere near that ship. She's left a battalion of troops to guard it. She obviously don't trust the Border Guards enough to leave an Airship unguarded, and she's right to. Those things are worth troughs full of Platinum to the right people."

Elthin asked if searching the Transport Vehicle Ellara 'Borrowed' is possible.

"The Inquisition are outside of the Law. If they wanted to bring bombs, or whatever, into a city, they're allowed to. They're not pinned down by moral codes or any form of Governmental ruling other than the Archmage's orders." Duke Trent explained. "We're not getting into anything they hold through conventional means."

"Maybe the only way onto the ship is to either sneak aboard or somehow. Gain her trust enough where she will invite us onboard." Elthin gave a reply.

The Duke gave his thoughts on what Elthin had said.

"Then we have to use unconventional means to get what we want then."

"Getting her to 'Invite' us on board is impossible, unless she 'invites' us because she wants us to stand trial in Court to plead our own defense." Duke Trent replied. "Unconventional means are the only way, I believe. She may leave the Vehicle unattended when she goes off to see you later. She'll obviously want an Audience for her 'discussion' with you."

"Then who's going to sneak onto the airship then?" Elthin asked. He had thought about doing it himself but since he wouldn't be able to with Ellara. That only left a few people who could do it Duke Trent, Freya or maybe even the kids.

"Not the airship, the Transport they borrowed." Duke Trent clarified. "The Airship is all the way over at the blockade, and they don't look like they'll be moving until their Commander is back."

That left who'll be carrying out this espionage.

"Whoever we can trust the most, of course, and, more importantly, who can hold their own should things go south." Duke Trent informed Elthin.

Elthin's mind must have slipped for a moment as it was the transport and not the airship. That was needed to be boarded and searched.

"Well, there is The Elder but I'm not sure or even know if he'd be able to sneak aboard. Or hold his own against if things did go south," Elthin said.

He didn't really know how powerful the elder really was.

"That Old Geezer's powerful. but he's not quick enough to do it during your little show of manhood with the Commander." Duke Trent answered. "Speed is vital, as you probably won't last that long should she get serious."

Elthin again tried to think of who could be used to search.

"You're not planning on trying to get Lucine to search. She might be fast but she wouldn't be able to handle herself if things got out of hand. Would you or Freya be able to search the transport instead?" Elthin asked.

"If there's no other options, I don't think we've got much of a choice but to send the little ladies in to do it." Duke Trent confirmed. "She was raised in the Slums so she knows how to defend herself against most would-be attackers. The Guards, while being Inquisitorial Elite Soldiers, only have basic mastery over their magic. The Commanders have all the skills. They can do the base cantrips of any magic, much like Lucine can."

Elthin suggested that Duke Trent should search the Transport.

"If Zena's willing to tag along, I can. I'm not skilled in offensive magic. My power is limited to just crafting and making the base elements needed for building things and servicing Servitors." Duke Trent informed Elthin. "However, Zena's my own personal Bodyguard, and she's not to be underestimated. I don't think you've ever seen her in action before, have you? She's the most skilled Bodyguard in the history of all the personal Guards of Argentian Dukes. The only downside is that I'll be wandering around in full view of all people. Seeing the Duke of a neighboring Duchy is sure to draw some attention. I can keep myself mostly inconspicuous, but, if things kick off, that'll have to drop faster than molten steel into a mould."

It seemed that the little girls would have to be the ones to do it. "But you've seen how Lucine currently is will she be willing to listen to you or let alone do something this big?" Elthin asked. Not sure if Lucine would be able to pull this sort of thing off.

The Duke spoke of Zena going along to help Lucine out.

"I have not seen her in action, if she's as good as you say then send her along. And that wouldn't do any good to have you trying to sneak a board as it would cause too much trouble."

"That's something I don't know." Duke Trent admitted. "She's in quite the sorry state at the moment."

Elthin agreed to send Zena along, but without the Duke.

"She can't unleash her full power unless I'm there with her. She's a...special case, as you've seen." Duke Trent answered.

"The Duke will need to be present and issue the order for Zena to unleash all her might. Without that, she's just a skilled Martial Artist, and that is little good against armed guards who are also magically inclined." Freya explained.

"I guess we can try and explain things to her to see if she would be willing to do this?" Elthin asked.

The duke was needed to be around for Zena to unleash her full power.

"Then once more that leaves us at a problem The Duke here can't be around. As it would cause a lot of problems."

"This'll take a lot of prep work, and we haven't got the time to ensure no errors happen." Duke Trent finished. "I can keep myself hidden as long as there's no reason for me to reveal myself. I'm not exactly dressed to impress most of the time, and I've been told I have a very general appearance. People have often mistaken me as another worker at the Forges and Mines."

"Then we best get to planning things right away, we should tell Zena and Lucine. What we have planned along with going over all the positives and negatives that. Going through with this plan will have for us. I hope that you can keep yourself well hidden." Elthin explained.

"I'm a natural at blending in with the regular folk. That's one of my more defining traits, and one of my best in the eyes of the citizens of Argenta." Duke Trent proudly answered. "I think it'll be better if Freya goes and gets them. It'll seem weird me going into a girl's bedroom that's not in my own house."

Freya agreed to go and fetch the others. Shortly after leaving, the four younger girls were obediently following along behind, until Zena reached enough distance to reclaim her position next to the Duke and stare daggers at Elthin. She wasn't the only one with a piercing gaze, as both Lucine and Syl were also staring oppressively at Elthin. Lucine probably explained everything to Syl. The only girls not glaring were Willow and Freya.

Freya returned with the others and three of them were glaring at Elthin.

"Mind telling me why I seem to be the center of attention now?" Elthin asked the girls. He had a feeling Lucine explained things to them.

"You're a popular guy. Got three pretty ladies all eyeing you up." Duke Trent joked.

"Liar." Lucine retorted.

"Meanie." Zena added in.

"You're cruel." Syl retaliated.

Not much from the angry trio.

"You like seeing it that much you'd lie about Syl saying bad words?" Willow explained vaguely. "Must've been angry you couldn't get her to use that pee-potion."

"No thanks." Elthin says.

The three spoke there piece and then Willow spoke up.

"How was I suppose to get you two to stop with the fighting. As all you cared about was yourselves at the time. And Syl should be mad at you to for laughing at her for being in trouble."

"Ain't no way you'll get us to stop it until we're good and ready." Willow answered. "You could've waited, but then you wouldn't have been able to see Syl pee."

"I laugh at Willow when she's in trouble, but I'd never seek to actively get her in trouble." Syl retorted.

"You're a lair and a betrayer. Slum etiquette says 'Honor Among Thieves'. No honor means they're the first to drop when trouble happens." Lucine answered.

"You're a villain to girls everywhere!" Zena interjected.

"Quite the little party of upset girls there." Duke Trent commented. "Like a Tavern Date gone wrong."

"Yeah, and how long would that have taken?" Elthin countered.

"Oh, look you finally decide to talk to me once again. Calling me a betrayer again I did what I thought was best for you at the time. If we had run or attacked them we would have been killed and what good would that of done us nothing." Elthin told her. "What if it was you and your sister against them would you two have run or attacked them or done things like I did?" Elthin asked.

"Zena stay out of this!" Elthin told her.

"I 'unno." Willow shrugged. "I guess until we got bored?"

"You just like seeing girls have accidents, don't you?" Syl countered. "You need patience. Lots and lots of patience."

Elthin, once more, ordered Zena to keep out of the conversation, causing her to yelp in fear and retreat behind Duke Trent.

"No need to take that tone with her." Duke Trent firmly retorted, sounding serious for once. "She has as much right to be a member of this conversation as the others do, as you've upset her as well. We still need to discuss how you can make up for that, so don't go adding more onto what I want in return for agreeing to help."

Elthin's next comment about a relation whom Lucine had never mentioned was possibly the worst move he could've played. The trigger had been tripped and things started to get more complicated...

"YOU LEAVE MY FAMILY OUT OF THIS!" Lucine angrily shouted at Elthin as the whole Apothecary began to tremble as if an Earthquake had struck. One of the mostly empty herb patches suddenly caught fire as pots and Alchemical equipment began to fall from high shelves to clatter across the floor as the whole building shook on its supports. "IT'S YOUR FAULT THAT MY SISTER HAD TO BE WHORED OFF!"

Elthin first listened to both Syl and Willow. "I don't care about people having accidents," Elthin said. Then he turned to face Duke Trent who spoke up after Zena yelped.

"I'm upset about a whole lot of things right now. And all I ever get from Zena here is negativity thrown my way." Elthin simply said.

Elthin was surprised by the effect that his comment about Lucine's sister had. He felt the ground shake under him as one of the herb patches caught fire. "I had nothing to do with that don't fucking blame me for something I never knew about until just a while ago. Either blame yourself for being too weak to do anything to stop it or blame the mother fucking person who came and took her away from you!"

While the chaos of the magical catastrophe continued, the more concerned members of the group began to try and fix up the damage that had been done while the children hid under tables and tried to remain as calm as they could in such a situation. At the rate the Apothecary was shaking, this was probably not a localised incident, and it was likely affecting neighbouring residences and the outside as well, on a smaller scale.

Elthin, once more, failing to read the situation, just added more fuel to the not-so-proverbial fire as Lucine's control over her powers slipped further.

"All you rich bastards are the same! All you care about is money and power and who next you can shove your tiny dick into! You're all just sick, twisted, selfish wankers!" Lucine ranted on as the volume of the shaking continued, making footing increasingly difficult for anyone but Lucine. The fires were starting to spark closer and closer to Elthin the more he placed the blame on Lucine, even to the point of nearly causing a support beam to topple on top of him, only to smash through a stool next to him.

More damage seemed to spring up around the room as the Apothecary. Was still shaking this wouldn't end well as the place could fall apart. Or worse yet the Inqi would come running and appear any second unless Elthin and Lucine stopped their fighting. As Lucine ranted on Elthin started to take notice. That Lucine was slowly starting to lose control over herself. As a support beam crashed down on a stool not far from where he stood.

"I don't need to hear anymore of this from you." Elthin said he started to turn and head out of the place,

Elthin tried to leave the apothecary, but Lucine had other ideas.

"You're nothing more than a coward who can't take the truth!" Lucine continued as the doorway to the Apothecary burst into flames. "You can't take the truth so you try and hide it under all the shit you fat cunts thrown into our home. Well, here's something for you: shit burns! And so do overstuffed twats like you!"

Fires began to glow inside of Lucine's eyes as her hair started to lazily move in the thermal currents inside the building. The air was becoming thick with woodsmoke and burning vegetation, making vision and breathing increasingly difficult. Lucine was cloaked in a sphere of flame, much like the way they had found her, making her unaffected by the inferno surrounding her. The tremors had increased in intensity, causing even the sturdy fittings to fall under the cataclysm. The other girls continued the scream and cry at the devastation happening to their home.

Elthin had made it to the doorway when it caught fire. Lucine seemed to be stopping him from leaving and he turned around to face her. "You know nothing of me or what I've been through and you now threaten me!" Elthin snapped. A cold chill blew across the room as Elthin own magical powers were coming into play. The surrounding area around him suddenly froze over well the ground anyway.

"I WISH I NEVER MET YOU!" Etlhin snapped.

In a swirl of icy magic, Elthin was engulfed in a cloud of icy mist. And suddenly vanished out of sight have disappeared from the Apothecary. The mist vanished and ice on the floor along with it meaning Elthin had retreated.

Elthin, not caring about the others trapped inside the burning building with an out of control Witch firing off magic in all directions, took the safe route out and dissipated into an icy mist, leaving Lucine to fire back these parting words.

"The same can be said for me!"

And with that, Elthin had successfully avoided having to deal with a Witch.

Elthin appeared a short distance outside the Apothecary. He was clearly mad at Lucine for being blamed for something he didn't do. And in his haste to leave he had forgotten something important. The others were trapped inside of their home and were as Lucine's mercy. Sighing he ran back towards the home and called on his own icy powers. To cover the entire home in a sheet of ice to try and protect it from burning down. He rushed to the door and kicked it open he'd repair the place when things calmed down.

"Freya and the Duke there's a way out gather the girls and retreat towards the sound of my voice?" Elthin called. As again he sent in a icy blast to try and put out the many fires burning.

For some reason, perhaps guilt at his sudden departure, Elthin only moved himself a little out of the way. To the other side of the door, to be exact. The quakes were affecting the outside as well, but on a more manageable level. They'd also attracted the attention of the one group Elthin did not want to deal with, as a group of Peacekeepers entered the tremor-wracked plaza while their Commander was firing off rapid commands in Battle-Tongue.

The Ice from the outside managed to remove most of the flames, but the intensity of the conflagration wasn't so easily stopped, as the ice soon began to melt, but it did buy valuable time. Elthin kicked the door to the burning building down and doused the majority of the fires on the inside, leaving a safe-ish route out of the Apothecary. There was still the Witch to deal with...

"Back for more, are you? Couldn't take the thought of leaving them with me? Why not just throw them aside? They're of no use to you anymore, after all. Isn't that why you so easily discarded me?" Lucine taunted. "Think I'm going to just roll over to your superior snowflakes?" The word 'Superior' was delivered with evident sarcasm.

Lucine had no interest in the other rapidly trying to exit the building, her sole interest was on Elthin.

With Elthin outside of the building he could see a group of people. Gathering around to watch what was going on he also saw a group of Peacekeepers. With their Commander who started shouting off commands. This wasn't what Elthin needed right now with the others still inside He had to be fast and the first think he did was surround The Duke, Freya, Syl, Zena and Willow in the same icy. Mist he had used to teleport away he teleported them safely out. Of the area and a short distance down the street out of sight from everyone.

Lucine turned her full attention towards him.

"There isn't time for that now the Inquisition is here and if you don't. Stop what you are doing they will stop you themselves you're no match against them. Do you want to die just because of our stupid fight?"

Elthin transported the fleeing group away, leaving Lucine safely inside the burning building. He tried to convince her to stop what she was doing, but it didn't seem like he was talking to Lucine right now at all. It was like the very powers she had were now controlling her.

"Let them come. You just wanted to throw me onto them anyway." Lucine answered as she began to leave the building, segments of the blaze following her wake as the tremors began to subside slightly, but were still present. "Why not just do it now? Either way, I'm not going down without a fight."

Lucine entered the main Plaza and turned to face Ellara, who was currently trying all she could to stem the inferno so it did not spread to the other buildings. Some of the Peacekeepers were either wielding water elemental stones or using their own powers to try and douse the flames.

"Like what you see?" Lucine grinned to Ellara. "This is what you wanted, wasn't it?"

Lucine wouldn't stop what she was doing and the entire home of Freya and the girls. Along with all their work was being destroyed. Elthin tried his best to put out the fire with his own magic but. Lucine's powers were quickly restarting the fires he had put out. Lucine then exited the building and turned to face Ellara and the others.

"Then you leave me with no choice then." Elthin said.

Not caring about what would soon happen to him and with a tiny. Part of himself still carrying about Lucine ran at her only to tackle her to the ground he quickly grabbed. Both of her arms feelings his hands burn.

"Some help here?" Elthin shouted at Ellara.

Elthin, being the bigger of the two, managed to successfully tackle Lucine to the ground. She tried to fight her way out, but all she could use at the moment was her lacking physical strength. Without being able to move her body, she couldn't control the elements around her. Her Flame Shield was still active, though, and quickly burning her grappler.

Not wanting to let a Rogue Witch run free, Ellara had no choice but to obey her nemesis. Leaving the restoration effort to the footsoldiers, she hurried over to the wrestling pair and readied some form of magic.

"Let her go...now!" Ellara commanded, as Elthin was left with little choice but to do as was told.

An extremely powerful containment spell was soon triggered, and Lucine was quickly encased in a bubble of water, which didn't seem to break no matter what was done to it.

"Trust you to cause her to lose all sense of reason!" Ellara lectured Elthin as Lucine tried to break out of her entrapment. "Just what did you say to her?!"

As Elthin held onto Lucine her powers seemed to die off. But the flame shield around her still burned him yet Elthin didn't care he wasn't going to let Lucine get herself killed. Ellara came over and cast a spell on Lucine as Elthin obeyed orders and let go of her.

"I mentioned her sister to her." Was all Elthin said.

Elthin confessed his terrible choice of conversation topic.

"You're so stupid sometimes!" Ellara countered. "You nearly got Civs killed for your own lack of control over your words! How the hell we're going to cover this up, I've no idea. You better start talking, Mister, I want a full rundown of the whole thing!"

"I will repay for the damages and will let those living here. Stay in my home until this place in repaired." Elthin said.

And so he then explained to Ellara everything that had happened during his and Lucine's fight.

Elthin claimed to be willing to pay off the damages.

"That still doesn't cover how the hell we can hide this from all the people around here. We've already had one inexpiable fire break out down in the Slums, and now another up here. People are going to get suspicious." Ellara retorted.

Elthin went on to explain everything to Ellara.

"You're really messed up after that earlier talk, aren't you?" Ellara answered. "Going all this way just to keep an out-of-control Witch from becoming Inquisition property. Kinda bad how you roped the Duke or Argenta and his little Companion into your own foolish game of cat and mouse. Really bad how you lied to force that sweet little girl to make a mess of her undies just to stop her from engaging in sisterly bonding. You really have no idea how a girl thinks, do you? Not that I'd expect a person who doesn't understand equality to know how to read a girl."

"Then come up with a story say bandits attacked and tried to steal what's inside. I don't know it's not my job" Elthin told her.

"How, the heck was I suppose to know that mentioning her sister. Would have this sort of effect on her she blamed me for the whole damned things with her sister. When I didn't know about it you should never have told me anything and this could have been avoided. As for the Duke and his friend they were just visiting their friends nothing more."

"Bandits attacking in a city as heavily fortified as this? Not gonna hide anything. We could go with the Arson story again, but I've another one in mind." Ellara answered. "If it was your job, with the amount of tact and understanding you've shown, no story would be believed. Leave it to the professionals."

Elthin tried to blame the whole cause of the problem on Ellara's revelation on some sensitive information.

"Use your brain, idiot." Ellara sighed. "Of course she'd kick off if you talked about her sister. After all, a Noble is the cause of her being a jizz-bucket for the rich people in Port Ralence. Knowledge is power, and power comes at a price of knowing when to and when not to use it."

Elthin tried to sell of the reason the Duke was there as just being a 'friendly visit'.

"You must take me for a fool or something." Ellara commented with a slight scoff. "The Duke doesn't just go on 'friendly visits' unless there's something in it for him. He likes creating abominations of nature too much."

"Fine I leave it to you to come up with a believable story." Elthin sighed. Ellara then spoke up again. "So, once again I get the blame for something you told me about. Geez, next you'll tell me her mother was the queen of the Gott Kingdom." Elthin sighed once again.

She spoke of the Duke next.

"Well, you are a fool but a pretty smart one." Elthin started to walk away.

"Yeah, right. Gott was destroyed way before any of her family were born." Ellara countered. "Isn't that right, 'Princeling'?"

Elthin retorted with a casual insult and began to head off.

"Wait, don't you want your little pyromaniac back?" Ellara called after him. "Can I keep her?"

Elthin heard what Ellara had said.

"Yes, that's right my beauty." Elthin countered back.

Ellara then asked about keeping Lucine.

"For now yes, as this will let her cool down some, but when we battle I will be reclaiming her then and there.' Elthin told her. Before he was out of sight he headed towards where he knew the others had been teleported to to check up on them.

Elthin tried to counter the rather sarcastic remark under the impression that it was flirting.

"I was being sarcastic, you dense Royal." Ellara chuckled back. "But, nice to know you respect my irresistible cuteness."

"We're not a creche! We don't do daycare!" Ellara retaliated just before Elthin was out of communication range.

Elthin then headed off to find those he displaced rather suddenly.

"Maybe I can see more of your cuteness another time and with out all that armour on." Elthin replied. Ellara spoke up before Elthin was out of ear shot range.

"Damn it" Elthin sighed then walked back over. "I'll take her then as long as she remains in this barrier until she's calmed down.

Once more, Elthin was being rather random in his actions and went back to pick up the troublesome pyro currently in a 'cool down' bubble.

"She'll conk out soon enough." Ellara answered with a shrug. "Using that much Magic is sure to cause her to lose consciousness. When that happens, the bubble will drop and she'll forget all she did while going on a burning rampage. She'll still hate you for bringing up her sister so casually, though, and suggesting that her sister would've done the same as you would've."

"That's better then her going out of control again and burning down the whole town." Elthin replied. At the moment he didn't care that she'd still hate him. He just wanted to leave the area and see the others. He then mentioned to the bubble which then started to follow him as he left the area.

Elthin had no qualms about being hated by Lucine, he just didn't want another inferno breaking out.

Elthin the set off out towards the pick-up point for the teleported individuals, if they were still there, that is. The bubble didn't need commanding much as it soon dropped, leaving Lucine to gently descend to the floor and lose consciousness. Bubble transport was not available any more, so carrying was the only choice.

The bubble soon left and Lucine lost consciousness this meant Elthin now. Had to carry her he sighed and picked her up into his arms. He walked in the direction of where he knew where the others are and soon found them all behind some buildings.

"I know, you all hate me and Lucine's right now and most likely hate me more. I'm sorry about your home being destroyed by the witch here. I'll repay the damages to get it rebuilt and allow you three to stay in my home until things are all fixed. I also know you've lost a lot of items and plan to help out remaking them in anyway that I can." Elthin told Freya.

Leaving no chance for response, once Elthin reached the group, he began to reel of a rather needless excuse for the destruction of Freya's home.

"So you bring the thing that caused all of this right to us once more?" Duke Trent answered first, all sense of joviality lost. "Just hand her over to the Inquisition. She's a Witch and it's their duty to cull the problem at its root."

The three younger girls just hid behind their respective guardians.

"You think money can replace all the things we had in that shop?" Freya questioned. "Money isn't the answer to everything."

"Then if you want to take her off my hands and give her back go ahead." Elthin countered. Not in the mood to argue anymore he offered Trent Lucine who was in his arms. "If you really want to cull the problem then handle it yourself." He placed Lucine on the ground to see if Duke Trent would do just that.

"I know you had a lot of items and materials that money can't replace. I'll help out replacing those by asking you to teach me the kind of stuff that you do for a living."

Elthin suggested that Duke Trent did as he had offered.

"I'm not about to kill a child." He countered. "Witch or not, she's still a child. I gave up murdering children long ago."

"Again with only the physical things." Freya retaliated. "There's more to life than just the physical aspects. That was my children's birth home. It was my livelihood. It's all I had since leaving the Pride Lands."

"That's good then," Elthin said and didn't bring up anything else. He looked over at Freya as she spoke her piece.

"What am I suppose to do, I can't travel back through time to change the outcome. On what happened with what I said. And I don't know how I can replace your children's childhood memories or the memories you had over your home. I don't know what to do or offer that can ever fix the things that were taken away from you. But my offer still stands even if you won't ever forgive me or the little bitch here." Elthin tapped Lucine with his foot.

"Maybe we just need some time apart to cool down or just go our sperate ways." Elthin said.

"You can't. And there's nothing any of us can do to replace them." Freya countered. "The little 'bitch', as you so eloquently put it, was not acting out of malice. She was acting out of sadness and anger towards how she was treated, and how you called her weak and blamed her for the loss of her own family."

"She acted like how anyone one of us would of acted if we were in her situation." Elthin pointed out. This was getting them no where fighting but Freya and the others had a right. To be angry and upset Elthin then did something he rose both his hands and created a small ice icicle between them. He walked forward and placed it upon the ground.

"Which ever one of you wishes to end her life because of how anger and upset you are. Go right ahead and do it I'll take all the blame and punishment for what will come. After the deed is carried out."

Elthin, again, tried to get someone to murder the accursed girl who'd forcibly entered his life and ruined it in a matter of days. However, no one was willing to commit the crime.

"Killing her will do nothing but spit on the Gifts the Earth Mother has given. I told you before that every life is a Gift from the Earth Mother and should be cherished. Killing a child out of spite for destroying something material will make us no better than those Tailless monsters who slaughter my people from differing viewpoints." Freya retaliated. "If you are so for killing her, why not do it yourself? I will not bloody my hands for another's enjoyment."

No one wanted to take the action of killing Lucine and instead tried to make Elthin do it. He looked at the icicle upon the ground and then the others. "You're the ones who are so upset with her over what has recently happened." Elthin pointed out. As he gazed at it again the thought of killing Lucine was on his mind but a part of him didn't want to do the deed. He wasn't sure just why he didn't want to do it maybe he was scared?

He snapped his fingers and the icicle disappeared.

"I can't do it, I don't know why but I just can't" Elthin spoke.

Even with all the horrible things that had happened since meeting the Girl, Elthin still couldn't bring himself to killing her.

"Then you've passed." Freya answered with a nod. "You respect the Earth Mother's Gift of life, and do not give into negativity."

"Killing her wouldn't have solved anything. It just would've caused more problems." Duke Trent agreed. "Plus, you'd have been setting a bad example for the little ones."

The group were still rather angry at Elthin and the troublesome pyromaniac, but they were not completely against considering them to be redeemable.

Maybe the reason why Elthin couldn't bring himself. To kill Lucine was that he liked having her in his life he was always alone on his travels and having someone around to speak to. Was something he had enjoyed doing with her. He wasn't about to tell the others that not at this very moment.

"Then little ones have been shown many bad examples today." Elthin answered. Only to then return Freya's nod. "So, what do we do now?"

"The girls and I still need a place to stay. They may not like the idea of being in the same house as the one who burned down their home, but it'll be better than being out on the streets. The city is dangerous at night." Freya answered. "Tomorrow, at first light, I want you to go back to our old home and try and salvage what you can from the wreckage. Only the front took the most damage, being a wooden extension of the main building, but the stone base for the back rooms may still have some salvageable items in which haven't been damaged by embers or smoke."

Freya and the girls still needed a place to stay and Freya told Elthin what to do. The next morning when everything was taken care of. "The girls will have to stay in Lucine's room I'm afraid as I don't have anymore spare bedrooms. You can share my room whatever that can be salvaged tomorrow can be placed into the basement. As we can turn part of that into your little workshop as there is more then enough room down there to work."

The confession that Elthin's house, while being bigger than most Nobel Households in the city, only had two serviceable bedrooms, didn't quite sit right with Freya and the girls.

"A house that big and you only have two bedrooms?" Freya sighed with a shake of her head. "They wouldn't want to sleep in the same room as Lucine, and I'm not really in the mood to sleep in your room right now. Organise your house a little more, make space for guests. Even just converting a sitting room into a makeshift bedroom will be enough for tonight. However, we do want proper rooms tomorrow."

Elthin's house did indeed have more bedrooms which. Would give the girls and Freya the rooms that they wanted just as this time they were being used to store. Some of the items Elthin had brought along in his travels across the land. "There are more bedrooms but they are being used at this time. I'd have to move things around to give everyone what they want." Elthin said.

"There is always my room you can use for the night I can sleep else where. The girls can either join you or I can set up beds in the main living room for tonight."

Elthin informed the abode-less group that there were more rooms, but they were currently being used as store rooms.

"We'll take the sitting room. It'll be more like home then." Freya answered. "We don't sleep in beds like tailless ones do, we sleep on futons."

"You can use the sitting room then." Elthin went over and picked up Lucine in his arms. He started to walk home then turned to the others. "Unless you want to stay there follow me?" Elthin said as he started walking again.

It was agreed that Freya and her children could use the sitting room as a bedroom for this evening. After parting ways with the Duke and Zena, who went back to the Guild to take the portal to their home, Elthin and his little group headed back to his house.

Elthin and the others parted ways with the Duke and Zena. The others remained with him and Elthin headed to his home arriving later. He opened the door and walked into the home and took Lucine to her room to lay her down. Before going to the sitting room and starting to make it into a bedroom for all three of the other girls.

After arriving at his home, Elthin set Lucine down to rest and began to make a suitable nesting area for his guests for the evening. They assisted in what ways they could, but Syl still wouldn't go near Elthin without having both Willow and Freya with her. Willow, being the more mature of the two, was still evidently angry with Elthin, but managed to momentarily put aside her grievances to allow for a swifter set-up to be done. After all, he did loan them his sitting room.

Elthin did move things around the sitting room. He set up three futons for the girls which lucky for him he had in storage. As he usually kept one around for when he went camping. Out in the wilds and the other two were bought for the others. Who if Elthin ever had company in his travels could sleep on as well. He placed them in the middle of the room. Not knowing if they wanted sheets or not and not knowing how they slept. Elthin didn't try asking just helped clean things up and saying they could move the beds how they wanted them to be.

Along with changing the room how they saw fit. He left them in peace and retired to his own room to go to sleep.

Elthin and Freya's group set up the Sitting room to the guests liking, and then each of them went about settling down for the evening. They'd had a long and eventful day, and all they wanted now was to sleep.

/Moving on to the next day.\\\

Morning of the next day came and the usual silence was broken by what could only be likened to some major event going on in the main Plaza. The noise was so loud that it could even reach this distance. Either the rest of the City folk had found out about another house spontaneously combusting, or some other major even was going on.

It wasn't exactly early in the morning, perhaps around ten O'clock, but there was far too much noise going on to be like a normal day. Having sensitive hearing, Freya's little group were the first to awaken and they began to go about their morning routine to the best of their ability in an unfamiliar setting.

Elthin didn't get much sleep that night having maybe gotten a couple of hours. Before going in and checking on Lucine to make sure she was sleeping. Along with placing strong magical wards around her room in case she went off again and tried to burn down his house. After doing so he went into the basement to train by himself for a couple of hours. Before being interrupted by tons of loud noises. Quickly leaving the basement and dressing himself for the day.

Elthin stepped outside to see what the racket was all about.

During the night, Elthin check up on Lucine and let his paranoia get the better of him. He placed wards around her room, almost like he was trying to exorcise a Demon, or something. Lucine wasn't showing much of a 'Demon Possession' and was, instead, clutching her abdomen and whimpering. Perhaps her earlier action had ruptured the wound she received from the glass? It'll have to be check out by a proper physician the next morning, if one was willing.

After that, he did some solo-training before giving in to his curiosity and heading out to see what the noise was about. It appeared that there was, indeed, some major event going on in the main plaza but, from this distance, all Elthin could see was a large gathering of people milling about in the Plaza, or heading their for whatever reason.

Elthin had done his best to close the wound that had ruptured. As he had seen Lucine whimpering and clutching her abdomen. He had closed and cleaned the wound the best he could but. Knew that she would need to see a doctor to get it fixed.

When he was outside in the distance there looked to be a major gathering of people. Hurrying quickly into the Plaza Elthin went about looking around.

Elthin headed into the bustling plaza, slaloming through the people going to and from the plaza during their daily routines.

Inside the plaza, the gathering looked to be mostly around the ruined Apothecary, but that was quite expected. Housewives and interfering Nobles were discussing if there could've been a link between the Slum fire and this Fire, and whether another Cult attack was imminent.

One more thing which looked mostly out of place was the sudden erection of a set of Gallows just in front of the plaza's fountain, facing towards the main gates, where the most people could gather. The gallows were empty, but the set-up of the nooses were kind of unsettling. There were two which were obviously not going to be used as they were still near the very top of the construction, leaving three of them to be possibly inhabited a little later...

Two of the three serviceable nooses were quite far down, closer to the base of the gallows than the top, with little stools under them. Child sized...

The third and final one was a little taller, potentially youth sized, and had no stool over the trapdoor.

Seems like a family hanging was imminent...

Everyone in the plaza, had gathered around the ruined Apothecary. Everyone who was there were discussing just what could have caused it. This would make his task of gathering anything that was still of use harder. As he looked around he saw a set of gallows had been set up three of them looked to be going to be used for something. He saw two were child sized and the other was just a little taller.

Elthin walked over to the nearst person who wasn't busy talking and asked. "What's with the gallows is someone going to be hanged?"

Elthin, a little unsettled by the Gallows, decided to ask the most pointless question to a passerby.

"What else would gallows be for? Drying vegetables?" The passerby answered. "Of course there's going to be a hanging. It's happening at midday today. Apparently, some ponce at the Guild found the culprits behind the arson attacks on the buildings. Some small time middle class family with no real note to their name."

"I know what they are used for, but can you tell me who in the Guild was the one who found. Out who caused the arson here?" Elthin asked. He already had a feeling of just who it was who had found out about everything or some of it.

Elthin requested for a name to place to the one who discovered the 'Arsonists'.

"Some posh git with the name 'Karst'." The passerby answered, sounding a little put off with mentioning that name."Said a family of Heretics got their hands on some Elemental stones through thievery and went around raiding easy to burn houses for money."

Elthin learned that it was 'Krast' who had been the one who knew about the arson. Looking back at the gallows he wondered if the hanging was going to be meant for Freya. And her family leaving the plaza he headed home to see them to let them know the news. Stopping at their room he knocked upon the door.

"Freya it's me I've got some news we need to talk?" Elthin asked.

After hearing the news, Elthin quickly fled back to his house like it had been the one to catch fire.

He hastily knocked on the sitting room door, only to get no response and it simply opened to his touch, showing that Freya and the girls were not in the sitting room. They had to be somewhere in the house, but possibly not able to take queries at the moment.

Elthin didn't find the girls in the sitting room. Which meant they had to be somewhere else the only place could be the bathroom which Elthin wasn't about to enter. So, that left him with little to do instead he went back to check on Lucine to make sure she was doing ok.

After getting no response from Freya and her children, Elthin went to check up on Lucine, only to find that she, too, was missing, and that there was a medium sized bloodstain on the sheets of her bed, possibly from, looking at the positioning the stain was in and Lucine's sleeping position the night before, the wound on her side. If Freya wasn't in the bathroom, she was probably tending to Lucine's wound in somewhere with lots of space and a place where Lucine could lie down.

Lucine wasn't in her room either which meant she was somewhere else. Seeing the stain on the sheets Elthin went about changing and cleaning up the mess before putting. On a fresh set of sheets and putting the dirty ones in the wash. Not knowing where they were Elthin after leaving the laundry room went in search of Freya and the others. He tried the basement first seeing that was large enough for someone to lay down in.

Elthin, after setting the bloodstained laundry to wash, headed down to the only large enough place to perform medical examinations.

Thankfully, Freya and the others were down here. Lucine was lying down on a bench as that was the only bed-like thing in the area and the floor was too dirty, from a medical point of view. She, obviously, was wearing nothing but a pair of cute blue and white polka-dot panties, as Freya needed to fully see the wound to be able to work on it.

Elthin was able to find that everyone was indeed in the basement. Lucine was lying down dressed in nothing but her panties. Which made Elthin stand at the door he didn't look their way and instead cleared his throat to try and get their attention.

Elthin. not wanting to intrude on the 'girl time' between Freya and her patient, decided to go for the most traditional of attention grabs. prompting Syl and Willow to dive in front of Lucine, facing the door, to try and cover her prone state.

"No boys allowed!" Willow instructed.

"Privacy!" Syl interjected.

"Whatever you want to say can wait. I'm working here. It's bad enough I'm having to use improvised tools." Freya responded.

Syl and Willow dived in front of Lucine to cover her up. Before speaking up and Freya joined in to.

"She needs to see a doctor we should just take her to one. But I've got something important to discuss with you. So, once you're done treating Lucine here meet me near your room." Elthin told her before leaving the room.

"In case you've forgotten, I _**am**_ this City's doctor." Freya corrected. "I've been treating people for the past two Summers, and I will continue to do so, even if my Clinic is no more."

Elthin said his piece and then left the Doctor to do her work. About ten minutes later, Freya and the others headed up from the Cellar to the Sitting room, with a fully dressed Lucine looking a little dazed, potentially from improvised Anesthesia, but mostly her normal self.

"Now then, what can be so important that it'll warrant interrupting an operation?" Freya questioned Elthin.

Elthin waited around until Freya had returned after finishing up with Lucine.

"I went over to your home this morning like requested. To check if I could anything that survived the fire but there appears to be a rather large crowd gathered around it. All talking about what happened to the place on top of that there are Gallows set up for a public hanging at midday today."

Elthin explained his paranoid findings to Freya and the girls, who didn't look too fazed by it all.

"I did say first light to avoid all of this." Freya sighed. "Anyway, it's bound to be a hot topic for conversation. After all, to most, it would've appeared like an arson attack again. Public hangings happen every now and then in this town. It's the sad truth. Nothing we can really do but pray to the Earth Mother for the soon to be deceased's souls."

"Yet it seems that this hanging is for a family event someone named 'Karst'. Ended up finding the people who did the arson he's from the Guild." Elthin tells her. As he tried to think about just who could be the people who was going to be hanged.

Elthin explained the person behind supposedly finding the culprits.

"Good for him, then." Freya shrugged. "By all means, go and watch the hanging. I know how it's a popular Noble passtime. Just don't expect myself or my girls going along with you."

Freya didn't seem too interested in the potential Public Execution.

Freya wasn't too interested in the Public Execution.

"Why, would I want to watch something like that?" Elthin asked. "But there is still more to this then that what if Karst captured Duke Trent and Zena thinking they were the people who. Caused the arson to happen?"

"It's considered as a performance to most Nobles." Freya explained. "It's unlikely they would've even considered the Duke or Zena to be responsible for the arson. The building was destroyed by fire, and the Duke doesn't have command over the element of Fire, and neither does Zena. No matter how dense this person might be, it's glaringly obvious that the Duke of Argenta and his Bodyguard would not have done such a public declaration of war against Brascus. It's pretty much common knowledge now that Argenta has reformed from its warmongering ways."

"Well, I don't care much for that sort of thing. And even if other Nobles do enjoy it I'm not one of them." Elthin said. "But it was said that a family of heretics got there hands on some elemental stones and went about. Using them to burn down houses as they went about stealing money. While both the Duke and Zena don't control fire it's still always the chance that something like this might of led to their capture." Elthin explained.

He then thought of an idea to try out. "I'm going to try and contact the duke to see if he's okay?" Elthin said. He then left the room and headed towards where the communication device was stored. Turning it on he waited for it to power up before trying to contact Duke Trent.

Elthin tried to counter the argument by saying that the Duke and Zena may have been wrongly captured. This caused a small smile to form over Freya, Syl and Willow's faces.

"Do you really think that the Duke's so easy to pin down like that?" Freya questioned.

"Zena's an expert at kicking boys where it hurts." Willow proudly announced.

"She may look cute and cuddly, but she's got fight in her." Syl agreed.

Elthin, still letting Paranoia do the thinking for him, decided to go and contact Duke Trent, only to have the communication redirected once more to Zena's seemingly handheld communication device.

"Big Bro's busy." Zena informed Elthin. "If it's not important, try again later. If it is, I can take a message and pass it over when he's free."

Elthin was unable to respond to everyone as he had left the room in a hurry. Soon enough he was able to get through to Duke Trent. But the call was taken by Zena instead who told him the duke was busy.

"It's good to see that neither you or the duke was captured. I'd just like to leave a message for him telling him that someone named Karst has found out who burned down Freya's home. And that there will be a public hanging at midday today in the plaza."

Elthin went about his confusing, paranoid statement, causing Zena to tile her head and give a look of blissful ignorance.

"Captured? What've we done? You didn't tell on us, did you?!" Zena shot back. "And you were meant to look after the Witch, not hand her over! Go out there and get her back right now! Stop wasting time having a pleasant chat!"

Zena was confused.

"You've done nothing wrong it was just something I was thinking. Anyway Lucine is safe here at the home. I didn't hand her over or anything she's with Freya and the others at the moment."

Elthin explained himself more clearly, by Zena was still completely lost.

"Then how could this guy have caught the culprit if she's mooching around at your place like nothing ever happened?" Zena questioned.

Zena was still lost.

"I don't know." Elthin told her. Before slowly and carefully going on to explain what he had learned. Making it easy for Zena to understand things. By going slowly as possible and saying he had thought Karst had captured the Duke and Zena which proved false.

After the indepth explanation, Zena roughly understood what was going on.

"Don't just jump to conclusions like that." She retaliated. "You'll give everyone the wrong idea and the whole thing would get crazy!"

Zena finally seemed to understand things.

"Things have already been crazy enough as is." Elthin sighed. "Well, pass on what I told you to the Duke and no wetting yourself today." Elthin got in one joke he didn't know if it would happen to Zena or not later on. After saying that he turned off the device before Zena could counter it with a nasty remark and went to rejoin the others.

Elthin requested for the message to be passed on to the Duke.

"Guess I've got no choice. It is business related, but only a little." Zena responded.

Elthin then threw in a rather snide remark, prompting an angry/embarrassed blush to form on Zena's face as she quickly tried to counter, but was soon cut off.

"You take that back! I'm not a-"

Zena's counter was cut short as Elthin close the communication and rejoined the others, whom were now milling about the sitting room trying to tidy it up as much as they could, with Lucine still looking a little out of it.

The others were busy milling around the sitting room trying to tidy it up. Lucine still seemed to look a little out of it.

"The Duke and Zena are doing okay." Elthin told Freya. He went over to check on Lucine himself to see how she was doing before moving about and helping tidy the room up.

Elthin informed the group about the results of his recent check up.

"As I would expect." Freya answered as she went about making up the futons again.

Elthin decided to check up on the rather dazed patient. Her eyes were a little glazed and her balance was a little off, but she was mostly doing fine. She bore the same kind of traits as someone who'd been hitting the bottle a little too much, but without all the innate stupidity that comes with being under the influence of alcohol.

"You'll get no sense out of her for the next hour at least." Freya informed Elthin. "I had to request some unconventional Anaesthetic to get her to let me stitch up her wound."

"One of my Moth friends can make some really cool dust that makes people who breath it in sleep real quick. And real deeply." Willow explained. "She's sleeping, now. Dusting's not easy,"

As Elthin checked up on Lucine he could see that she looked rather dazed. Her eyes were a little glazed over but she appeared to be doing fine. It even looked like she was drunk a little form having drank so but alcohol.

"At least she's doing okay." Willow then spoke again,

"That's another good thing to have when someone needs to sleep." Elthin said.

He still helped tidy up the room. "How did you three sleep last night?" He asked.

Elthin was mostly content with the outcome of the improvised surgery.

"Problem is, you're not really sleeping when it happens. You're just in some kind of weird world where you can still see and hear everything, but don't feel anything." Willow tried to explain. "It's like you're in a dream, but one you can't wake up from until the dust stops working."

Elthin helped tidy up the last of the clutter in the Sitting room.

"As well as we could in an unfamiliar place, with someone who just burned our house down only a ceiling above us." Freya answered.

"I had to go and get my Bug Friends, so I didn't really sleep that much." Willow replied.

"I had to go and get some things as well." Syl added in quietly.

Elthin listened to what else Willow had to say to him.

"So Lucine is able to hear everything and see everything that is happening to her?" Elthin asked. He kneeled down near her and then wave his hand in front of her eyes to see if that would work. An that she might mention something later on down the line.

He then went up helping tidy up the room.

"I know you three don't like all that has happened. An that you wish things could of been handled differently. I'm trying to help out with all I can."

Elthin asked about the effects of the Moth's dust.

"Yeah. She'll probably be screaming when she comes 'round. All of Big Sis's customers do when she stitches them up without numbing them first," Willow explained. "Probably be best for her to be in the bathroom when that happens as well, as the Dust tends to shut out nearly all of the signals of the body until it stops working. One time, when Syl used it as she couldn't sleep, she-"

Syl quickly covered Willow's face with one of the pillows, just enough to cancel out her speaking, but not enough to suffocate her.

"He doesn't need to hear that." Syl shot back at Willow, her face a little flushed from blushing. When the muffled protests faded, Syl removed the pillow and got back to cleaning.

Eventually, the room was in a more complete state, like it was before its guests came in to stay.

"How long before that happens?" Elthin asked to Willow.

Willow was about to reveal something about Syl when she quickly covered Willow's face. Which canceled out the rest of what Willow was going to say,

"About that can we stop with that sort of thing please. As even if I were to find out about it which I don't want to. I'd just be accused of lewdness and all that other stuff."

Elthin accepted the animosity the girls bore towards him and claimed that he wasn't interested in any of it. Syl answered for Willow while she was still covering her up.

"Willow's got a problem with saying what she's thinking all the time." Syl explained. "If she's talking, and she's thinking about something related to her speech, she'll say it, regardless of whether she meant it to be a thought or not."

Once Syl released Willow, Willow was able to explain her knowledge on Dust duration.

"It normally lasts anywhere between two hours, and twelve hours based on how much dust was used. I think Lu's will be wearing off in around half an hour, as she was only dusted a little."

Syl was the one who spoke up once again.

"Doesn't that usually lead to problems in the long run?" Elthin asked.

He had a feeling that it normally would as it wasn't the best of things. To reveal others problems of personal information. Syl then mentioned how long the effects of the Dust would have on a person.

"Only 30 more minutes that's not that bad."

"You have no idea how many times we've had to bail her out when her mouth runs before her brain does." Syl sighed with a shake of her head.

Elthin was thankful that the dust's effects wouldn't last much longer.

"It might be. It depends on what she's doing, or, more accurately, where she is when the effects wear off." Willow countered. "Hopefully, as it's only really short, she'd still be around the house."

"Well for now that's all she will be at maybe I should. Lock her away in another room for a while just in case something bad happens again."

That would work as Freya would need to keep an eye on the girl. "Are any of you hungry and want something to eat?" Elthin asked.

"Let's not lock her away." Freya quickly interjected. "Considering what happened yesterday, that may do more harm than good."

Elthin asked about food arrangements.

"Guess we could have a late breakfast." Willow replied with a shrug.

"Food's a good idea." Syl answered.

"I think we can wait a little longer so the patient doesn't miss out." Freya suggested. "By my calculation, it shouldn't be more than 25 minutes until she's back to her old self again. She'll lose the dust hypnosis in about ten minutes, but she'll still feel a little addled until the full duration is up."

"We can wait the twenty five minutes for now at least." Elthin says. After Freya told them that they should all wait. "What type of food do you three eat so that I can know ahead of time what I will need. To pick up from the market place for later?"

Elthin agreed to wait the required time before Lucine recovered from her dazed state, He then asked about what food to pick up for cooking.

"Sweet things." Syl answered. "I don't like spicy or sour things."

"Salads and chicken." Willow replied. "I'm okay with spicy things, but sour things taste bad."

"I'm not picky. Just no red meats in the food." Freya concluded. "Unlike Lucine, my girls are okay with healthy foods. I wouldn't have it any other way. I forced the pickiness out of them when they were still very young."

The girls all wanted to eat healthy foods which was understandable.

"I'll see what I have in storage I might have somethings that can be used. For all three of you so if you'd follow me later I can show you what I have?" Elthin asked.

Elthin believed he had some food in stock which was suitable to the Guests' tastes.

"Good. Food is sorted, then. Now, we just need a more suitable sleeping area." Freya reminded Elthin. "I did say that you had to sort out a proper room as quickly as possible."

"Um, I've got a question." Syl spoke up, which was a little abnormal for her. Her question directed at Elthin. "If good people are going to get hurt for things they didn't do, why are you not helping them? If they've done nothing wrong, then they shouldn't be hurt for it, right?"

"I know that and it will be taken care of later today okay?" Elthin sighed. Not liking to be reminded of something he still needed to do. Syl then asked him a question.

"It isn't my place to help them as there is always a chance. That I could get into trouble for doing something like that. I'm already in enough trouble as it is with holding Lucine from the Inqu and don't want to build onto that. But I do agree that innocent people shouldn't get hurt for things they did not do."

Elthin tried to reason with a child's innocence, but Syl's side was still the stronger one, in her mind.

"But isn't helping others what we should all be trying to do? In all the books I've read, the good guys always help others, even if it might be dangerous to them. After all, we should all try to help one another if we can." Syl countered. "So, you think that you can't help people because you might get in trouble for it? That sounds rather selfish."

Syl responded back.

"It would be nice indeed if everyone always was there to help one another. But there are those types of people would don't like doing that sort of thing most. People dislike helping others nor care for it." Elthin tried to explain. "I can help others but am trying to think of the bigger picture and the outcome of actions I can take or what would happen if I did help people. Like here's a question for you say you were in my shoes and decided to help out Lucine here. What would you do to help her out even knowing you'd get into some sort of trouble while doing so?"

Elthin tried to counter optimism with cold logic.

"I'd keep Lu safe." Syl answered. "I'll make sure that nobody would hurt her, and that nobody would take her away from me. I don't know about the Inqui or why they want Lu, I just know that if I promised to keep her safe, I should keep my promise. Breaking promises is a bad thing."

"You, say you would keep her safe and no one would take her away. But what if giving her away was your only option at the time. Would you do it like I did even though I didn't want to do it would you give her away?" Elthin raised his voice. As that moment was still a hurtful matter to him.

Syl was about to give her answer, until Elthin raised his voice at her, causing her to whimper and hide behind Freya.

"That was completely uncalled for!" Freya countered. "You asked her the question and she gave her answer. There was no need to shout at her for doing as she was told."

Between the arguing pair, a small aquamarine like pebble-sized oval began to form from nothing...

Freya then countered with her own statement and Syl hid behind her.

"Do you think I like what happened?" Elthin countered he was about to say something else. When he saw the small aquamarine like pebble-sized oval began to take shape. Not knowing what was causing it he dropped the subject with Freya and turned to face this new threat.

"There's no need to take your anger out on someone who has no fault in the matter!" Freya retaliated, unaware of the small object forming on the floor.

The small pebble began to expand outwards and grow into a large egg-like shape. Once the object reached the size of Syl and Willow, then Freya took notice of it.

"Great Earth Mother, what is that?!" She questioned in surprise.

"An Egg?" Willow suggested, confused by it all as well.

The object did, indeed, look like an egg, however, it was far too large to be laid by even the bigger of non-mammalian creatures and it had the texture of a rough hew gemstone, faceted in the ways they normally do as well, but still maintaining the overall feel of an egg.

"Just drop it!" Elthin warned.

The small pebble began to expand and outwards it spread. Into a large egg-like shape the object grew in size of Syl and Willow.

The others took notice of it.

"Why do I have an egg in my home?" Elthin asked. He walked up to it and placed a hand upon it. As he looked closely at it.

The strange egg stopped at the size of the young girls, and we now taking up quite a large space as it lay on its side. It showed minor signs of movement, like it would be hatching soon, moreso when the two were arguing.

"How would I know?" Freya countered. "What even laid this egg?"

"Do eggs just appear like that?" Willow asked. "I though that-"

Syl, in one swift movement, covered Willow's mouth once more.

"Eggs are gifts from the Stork for animals." Syl cut in. "Do you keep animals here?" She asked Elthin.

Elthin tested the firmness of the egg. It felt, as one would expect, smoothish and a little bumpy. It glittered a little in the light from the outside, like it's appearance would suggest. It showed no signs of hatching at present, but still felt undeniably warm to the touch.

The egg moved a little and showed signs of hatching soon.

"No they don't but I don't want this egg here in this room right now." Elthin says. He felt the egg and it indeed felt warm to the touch. "I don't keep any animals here, I don't even know what to do with it." Elthin turned to look at Lu could she have done this some how.

Elthin, being at a loss for what this huge egg could be doing in such a place, turned to the one who'd been causing the most abnormal occurrences lately. She was still rather dazed, but the effects should be wearing off soon enough. Even if she did cause it to happen, there was no way she would've consciously done it in this state. Another problem was what reason she may have for doing something like that. Overall, more research was required on this strange phenomenon.

"What're we going to do with it?" Freya questioned pointlessly. "It's far too heavy and large to move."

Lu still appeared to be out of it and this was still all rather strange.

"We can try and hatch it?" Elthin asked. He thought about asking someone to sit on the egg. But they wouldn't be able to get up there. "Would magic work to try and move it into the basement where there is more room?" Elthin asked.

"And how are we meant to hatch an egg the size of a small child?" Freya retorted. "Do we even know how to hatch an egg like this? Normal eggs don't just appear out of nowhere in the middle of a sitting room while people are talking."

Elthin suggested using magic to move the egg to a large location.

"Try it." Willow suggested when Syl released the 'running thoughts plug'.

"I wouldn't even know where to begin as I don't have any knowleadge in animal birth." Willow then to try to move it with magic. So Elthin went along with that idea he called on his magical powers creating a blue dome around the egg and tried to teleport the egg into the basement.

"How do we even know that this is an **animal** egg? It looks like a precious gem, it just appeared out of nowhere, and it's far too big." Freya answered.

Elthin tried to move the egg with magic, but it didn't budge one bit. The dome encased it, the spell went off, but the egg remained firmly in place and glowed a little from the attempt at magical relocation. It appeared to respond to the Water part of the spell rather than the spell itself. It wiggled around a little more and some cracks started to form on the outside shell.

"We don't know maybe it's a gem as you pointed out or something else."

The egg didn't budge when magic was used on it. The egg remained in place as she dome encased it and then started to glow. They egg seemed to respond to the Water in Elthin's magic so her kept it up and increased the amount of magic that was cast. When he saw cracks appeared on its shell.

"An egg that responds to magic and heightened emotions..." Freya puzzled as she saw how the egg-thing reacted to the magic cast on it.

Elthin continued to bathe the egg in magic and more cracks began to appear on it. It was also wiggling a lot more as it showed signs of hatching. Once the magic had coated it for around a minute, the egg split open in a dazzling display of turquoise light, filling the room with its luminescence. Once the light faded, the egg had disappeared and all that remained in its place was a sleeping child, curled up like she was in bed.

Judging by the long hair, this child was evidently female, but something was very off about her. For starters, her hair colour was the same as the colour of the egg and stretched down to nearly the complete length of her back. She had coral growths resembling horns on either side of her head, but they soon began to fade away, but not disappearing entirely. She also had coral segmented wings on her back, which look close to a natural coral formation taking on the shape of wings. These, too, began to fade with her horns. She looked to be around four years of age, despite just being 'born' mere seconds ago. She was a little shorter than Syl and Willow, around the normal size of a person her apparent age. Aside from that, she was, as one would expect from a newborn, completely naked. Thankfully, her hair was covering up the most important parts for now.

Her eyes gently began to flutter open, revealing a set of crystal blue irises. She slowly pushed herself up from the floor, rubbing her eyes as a child would after a nap, and then looked up at Elthin with a large smile on her face.

"Papa!" She greeted Elthin, she then turned to Freya, and greeted her just as strangely with "Mama!"

Regardless of being less than a few minutes old, she seemed to have a perfect grasp of the Common tongue up to the ability of Syl and Willow.

"Earth Mother be praised." Freya quietly whispered to herself. "A dragon is born once more..."

More and more cracks formed on the egg. As Elthin fed it magically it started to wiggle more and more and soon split down the middle. As a turquoise light filled the room once the light faded. As sleeping child was seen which appeared to be female. Yet there was something indeed off about this female. She had coral growths on her head and wings along her back that faded from view. The girl was about 4 years of age and was shorter than Syl and Willow. She was also naked and Elthin looked around and found a small blanket to use to cover up her nudity. But the blanket fell away as she stood up and then looked at Elthin with a large smile and then Freya.

"Papa?" Elthin asked clearly confused. He then heard Freya's whisper and was shocked that a dragon was born as he had never seen one up close before.

Elthin wasn't sure on what to do with these latest turn of events. If word got out that a dragon had been born once more into this world it could lead to a whole mess of trouble. There was the chance that the Inqui would come to claim it for their own uses. Plans needed to be thought up quickly The Elder and Duke Trent would need to know what had happened. That could all be taken care of later as he walked up to the small girl.

"Do, you have a name?" Elthin asked.

As Elthin moved towards the recently hatched Dragon, she leaped up off the floor and glomped Elthin, giggling gleefully as she did so. Elthin asked the girl for her name, but she just tilted her head to the side in a confused manner.

"Name?" The girl repeated.

"A gift given to all children the day they are born to provide them with an identity." Freya clarified for the confused hatchling.

"No name." The girl answered with a shake of her head. "Can I have a name?"

It seemed that Dragons, like most creatures, are born without names added to them. Being the surrogate caregivers, it was down to Freya and Elthin to provide their new child with a name.

"Perhaps 'Coral' will suit you well?" Freya suggested. "After all, you do have coral wings and horns. Unless, your 'Papa' has other ideas."

"Coral." The young dragon mused to herself. "Name, Coral?" She questioned Elthin.

The girl before him seemed confused about the question he had asked her. Before glomping onto him and giggling gleefully. Freya then told the girl what having a name meant before. The girl asked if she could have a name in which Freya decided to name the girl 'Coral'.

'I've got nothing Coral can work out just fine." Elthin told both girls. He went on to scratch the back of his head he wasn't sure of what to make of any of this. The was so many questions he wanted to ask Coral and tried to think of the first one.

'Are there more of your kind Coral out there in the world and by kind I mean dragons such as yourself?'

"Then Coral's Coral!" Coral giggled to Elthin.

Ignoring the current nakedness of the Newborn Dragon hugging his waist, Elthin began to ask questions of this hatchling. Coral looked to the side, puzzling over something, before giving her answer.

"Coral thinks there's one more close by." Coral answered. "But Coral's not sure if she's sensing herself or not."

"Shouldn't we be getting some clothes on the poor thing before you barrage her with questions?" Freya suggested. "Unless you like having naked children hug you."

His question was answered with a look of puzzlement on Coral's face. She then gave her answer to the question that was asked. "Another one could he mean Lu..." but her response was cut off when Freya mentioned about getting the girl clothed. "I tried to do that earlier." He wasn't sure he had any clothes that was her size. He looked over at Lucine just checking her clothing size by looking at her body before looking back at Coral.

Elthin countered the order for Dragon clothing by stating that he tried to do it, but towels or blankets aren't likely to stay on newborns if they move around a lot, especially newborn Dragons. He checked Lucine's size a little and compared it to Coral. Lucine was, indeed, a fair amount taller than Coral but, perhaps, at a push, some of Lucine's shorter dresses may just about fit Coral as more of a gown/tunic than a dress. It'll do, for now, until they can properly clothe the newest addition to their 'family'. Syl and Willow offered to fetch the clothing for Coral and quickly headed out of the room.

As Coral kept snuggling against her 'Papa', something strange came over Elthin's vision. The corners of his view were slightly tinted a pale blue colour, close enough to Coral's Eye colour, and strange shapes began to form around the room. Small pockets of blue spherical objects appeared close to Lucine and just gently hovered around her. Faint whispers of conversations, sounding very close to the rants between Lucine and Elthin, could be heard when Elthin passed a glance over the orbs of light. Nobody else noticed these strange occurrences except Coral, who was perhaps seeing what Elthin was seeing.

Elthin was able to see that Lucine was a little taller than Coral. It seemed that some of Lucine's clothes were too tall for her but some of her older ones might just fit her. Elthin would need to get Coral fitted with clothes more to her style that was if a dragon liked to wear clothes. Syl and Willow left the room to gather clothes as Coral kept snuggling against him.

Something strange came over his vision as a tinted pale blue color. Were around the corners of his vision as strange shapes began to form around the room. Small blue spherical objects appeared to hover around Lucine. And he could hear faint whispers of someone or something talking. He didn't know what was really happening and was rather confused. But it appeared that Coral knew what was going on.

"I feel strange," Elthin said he stepped away from Coral and took a seat.

The strange tinting of vision made Elthin a little uneasy as he stepped away from Coral and took a seat. As soon as Coral was no longer touching him, the vision tinting and phantasmal objects disappeared and everything returned to normal.

"Don't tell me she's tired you out already." Freya sighed. "I don't need two patients and, if you're already feeling the parental pains, you'll likely go gray haired when she's a little more proactive in the world."

"Coral's hungry..." Coral commented as she headed over to Lucine and stopped just a few steps away from the location of the blue orbs. She was eyeing up the orb's location before Freya cut in.

"Lucine's not food!" She quickly instructed the young dragon. "She's your...sister? Yes! She's your sister. You shouldn't eat your sister."

"Coral can't eat?" Coral questioned as she pointed at the location of the orb, which appeared to be pointing straight at Lucine to those who hadn't experienced the strange event.

Elthin's vision returned to normal once he was away and not holding Coral. Or at least touching her in any sort of way. Coral then said that she was hungry and Freya told her she shouldn't eat Lucine since she was her sister. This confused Coral who was standing near a location of one of the orbs that Elthin had seen.

"Coral can eat but what was that strange stuff that I saw?" Elthin asked her.

Freya, who was completely unaware of any strange phantasmal objects, interpreted that Elthin had condoned Coral in eating Lucine.

"I know she can be a pest, but that doesn't mean that you can offer her up as food for a Dragon!" Freya lectured Elthin. "Have you completely lost all sense of reason?"

"So can Coral eat, or can't Coral eat?" Coral asked once more, still very confused by the mixed viewpoints.

Elthin asked the young Dragon about the strange blue objects.

"Coral thinks they're food. They smell nice and look tasty." Coral answered as she plucked one out of the air, seemingly grabbing nothing, and began to munch on, again, seemingly nothing. Seconds later, she had a large smile on her face. "Tasty."

Another strange feeling overcame Elthin as he felt understanding of the varying viewpoints he had with Lucine.

"I'm not offering her up as food or anything. And no I haven't lost all reason I can't really explain what just happened to me. Maybe you might see what I saw at some point in time." Elthin finally said. Coral then asked if she could eat or not.

"You can eat."

Coral then said that the blue objects were food and took one. Out of the air which Elthin couldn't see but had seen moments ago. Then another strange feeling came over him and he seemed to understand certain varying viewpoints he had with Lucine,

Elthin went on to explain about seeing strange things, which only made Freya question his sanity once more.

"You're really not cut of for parenting." Freya answered with a shake of her head. "I dread to think what you're going to be like when they grow up. You'll probably be sent to an asylum as an inmate."

Coral nommed down the last two orbs around Lucine and understanding washed over Elthin. He now knew just why Lucine was so upset when he suggested to hand her over to the Inquisition.

"All finished." Coral chimed to herself after eating the last orb.

Freya still didn't understand what Elthin was talking about.

"I've never been a parent before. So what am I suppose to do?"

A feeling of understanding seemed to wash. Over Elthin after Coral had eaten one of the orbs he now understand. Just how Lucine had felt. As the understanding feelings came over him. He felt depressed and angry with himself. Over what he had done he didn't know how Lucine had felt and that ate away at him. Making him hate himself for what he had done. He wondered if she would event understand why he had done so.

"I now understand just how she felt."

Elthin explained how he was at a loss with no experience in childcare.

"Now you know how every new mother feels when men sow their seeds." Freya answered. "Nobody has experience in childcare naturally. It is gained through hard labour and much toil. Every child is unique, so what may work for one may not work for another."

As Elthin began to gain an understanding of things, the Befuddlement from the Dust wore off, prompting Lucine to start to feel everything suppressed by the Dust. leaving poor Coral at a loss for what might be causing her 'sister' to look and sound so pained.

"Huh?" Coral sounded in confusion as she looked over the pained Lucine, who was now doubled over slightly and clutching at her injured side. "Pain?"

Without even waiting for a response, Coral lifted up Lucine's dress, showing off her deep blue and white polka-dot panties, seemingly not even feeling any resistance from the tight grip from Lucine. She found the source of the pain, which was the location the stitches were sewn in to. It had now flared up quite noticeably, and we coloured a deep red.

"Pain hurts." Coral pointlessly said to herself as her wings and horns came back into existence for the briefest of moments as she kissed the wound. The redness began to fade away, and the swelling subsided. All that was left was a mild inflammation, like what was expected from a recently closed wound. "Pain go away."

Coral stood back up again, looking rather pleased with her handiwork, as Lucine quickly threw her dress back into position. The redness from the wound had now moved up to a deep blush on her face.

"Just what's this girl's problem?!" Lucine ranted, still blushing. "And you better not have been staring, perv!" She added on the end, aimed at Elthin.

Freya said that Elthin now knew what it was like to be a parent.

"I don't think I will ever understand. Im not ready to be a parent yet. I'm not saying that I don't want to be one I am just so confused. And not sure on what to really do."

After what the understanding had done for Elthin Coral began to say she felt a strange pain before going over to Lucine then lifting her dress. Before kissing the wound which made the pain go away.

This made Lucine awaken and push her dress back down. "She's my new child and she is a dragon. She was born from the egg that showed up here a short while ago."

"You don't really have much of a choice any more. Most of Lucine's raising was done by her birth parents. However, you now have a child of your own to look after. Things will be much harder from now on." Freya explained. "But, as she seems to be a product from both of us, you won't be alone in this matter."

Elthin explained, in as little detail as possible, how Coral came into this world.

"I knew you were having an affair!" Lucine misinterpreted. "Everybody knows Dragons are just fairy tales created by adults to scare kids into doing things."

Lucine now noticed that her new 'Sister' was completely naked.

"And why the hell is she naked?!" Lucine exclaimed. "Are you a kiddy-fiddler or something?!"

Elthin listened to what Freya had to say.

"What am I going to say to Duke Trent an The Elder I think it will. Be hard to believe that I am with a child now. Plus I can use all the help I can get."

Lucine thought Elthin was having an affair and dragons weren't real. "Dragons are indeed real as Coral here is one." he turned to Coral. "Ifyou would kindly show her your wings please?" Elthin asked

"She's naked because she has no clothes at the moment. Syl and Willow went to get her some."

Elthin was feeling the new parent confusion.

"If you explain what she is and show proof to them to back up your claim, them I'm sure both will be very interested in supporting you in raising her so they can research Dragons more closely." Freya suggested.

Elthin requested that Coral showed her wings to Lucine.

"Okay." Coral answered, a little confused about the strange request. Soon enough, her wings and horns began to materialise once more, but only for a couple of seconds before disappearing again. "Hard to do."

Lucine was just left speechless by the revelation. Syl and Willow soon returned with an outfit which, despite being requested to look for a smaller one, was still Lucine sized, and not Newborn Dragon sized.

"How can one girl need so many clothes?" Willow questioned everybody. "I've only got three outfits, and one of them's my nightie."

"Clothes?" Coral mused a she looked over the outfit in Willow's arms.

"You know what to do, girls." Freya mysteriously informed the pair with a smile. "On the count of three...two...one..."

All of a sudden, Freya covered Elthin's eyes as something unknown played out through the darkness.

"Be careful with that, they're not cheap!"

"I know. We've done this tons of times."

"Are we gonna play?"

"I hardly call getting dressed 'playing'...Hey, wait...that's for Coral, isn't i- WHERE' DO YOU THINK YOU'RE PUTTING YOUR HANDS?!"

"This'll only take a moment, Lu."

"HEY! Get your hands- IYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Yay! Playtime!"

"Wow, Lu, it's so soft!"

"GET YOUR HANDS AWAY FROM THERE!"

"This is revenge for bathtime, Lu!"

The sound of rapid undressing accompanied by screams of shock and embarrassment from Lucine overpowered the joyous giggling of Coral as Syl and Willow went about doing unknown things to the pair. With the way Lucine was shouting out curse word after curse word, Syl was possibly placing her hands were she wasn't meant to to make up for what Lucine did to her. Eventually, the screams and swearing died down to embarrassed sniffling as Freya removed her hands from Elthin's eyes.

Lucine was now crouched on the floor, with a deep red blush on her face, wearing the dress Willow had bought down, leaving Coral wearing what Lucine did have on, which was a small navy blue dress. Coral didn't look too please with her attire if the pout on her face was anything to go by. She looked like she was being pushing for something she didn't do. Syl and Willow had mischievous smiles on their faces as they look at one another and then back at Freya, nodding to show their work was complete.

"They're experts at undressing even the most stubborn of patients." Freya clarified for Elthin. "I do hope you weren't imagining unsavoury things while it was going on.

"Once everything has calmed down here I plan on letting them both know. What has been going on."

Both Syl and Willow returned with some clothes as Lucine was left speechless. After seeing the wings and horns of Coral who said it was hard to do. Then his eyes were covered as they went about dressed Coral.

"Oh, come on this isn't needed."

Elthin heard everything that was said and done. But was unable to see anything until. Everything was all finished and Lucine and Coral were both dressed in different clothes though Lucine was blushing.

"I have a lot more pressing things on my mind other then that. What does this make us now that we have a child do we get married now or something?"

Now that the girls were all dressed and ready for the day, now came the problem of having to raise a Baby Dragon with absolutely no clue as to what is required.

"Cohabiting isn't frowned upon in Animalia Society." Freya explained to Elthin. "Marriage is an invention of tailless ones. Animalia do not need to be joined with a ring. Animalia simply need to become Soul Mates. There is no ceremony or social implications infringing in the life of them and forcing two people to be joined. When two wish to be together, they simply need to be together, that is all."

"Um, what're we gonna do now?" Coral asked. "Coral wants to find some better clothes."

"Are you trying to start a fight?" Lucine retaliated. "You took my clothes, and now you're saying they're not good enough?"

"Shouldn't Uncle Duke know about this?" Willow suggested. "Elthin did say he'd let him know when he found a Dragon."

Freya explained things about how her race went about marriages.

"That does make things a lot easier plus. It saves a lot of time with other things as well."

Coral wished to find better clothes while. Lucine was in the mood to start a fight. Then Willow brought up that the Duke needed to know about the dragon.

"We can take Coral here to get some new clothes. Then go visit Duke Trent and The Elder is that okay with everyone?"

Elthin suggested that they go out and find Coral some clothes more to a Dragon's taste.

"We don't even know what kind of clothes would be suitable for a Dragon." Freya answered. "I think we will need to research some more before we commit to anything. We don't want to endanger such a rare being's life and comfort."

Lucine was the only one vehemently against dithering.

"Before we do anything else, we're stopping that Execution." Lucine cut in.

Freya and Lucine both tasted some facts.

"Something blue might work out for Coral but I believe you are right. We need to do more research on this subject,"

Lucine spoke up about the Execution,

"Are you really up for something like this even though you might get into trouble?" Elthin asked,

Elthin believed that the chosen colour was what Coral wasn't too pleased with.

"I don't think Dragons are picky enough to detest clothes just because they're not the colour they want." Freya commented. "It may be the material, the weight, the style, we just don't know."

"Clothes too stuffy. Coral wants to take them off!" Coral interjected. "Too heavy, too long."

Elthin tried to dissuade Lucine from interfering with the corrupt justice system of Brascus.

"So I should just let people die, even if they've had no part in it?! Who the hell is corrupt enough to pick up random people and kill them for no reason?!" Lucine countered. "We've got a **Dragon** , if that ditz of a kid really is one. Who's going to be stupid enough to contest us?"

Coral wasn't thrilled with his answer.

"You can take them off when its time for bed. But for now you will have to wear them." Elthin told Coral.

He thought over Freya's answer some before Lucine spoke up.

"No you shouldn't but there are people in this city who are corrupt. Enough to pick on others for their own amusement. And while we do have a Dragon I'd rather not have others finding out that we do it would just lead to a whole bunch of trouble. Would you want the Arch Mage or Inqu to find out about her and take Coral away?" Elthin countered.

"But Coral wants to take them off!" Coral protested.

"Clothes stay on." Freya repeated firmly. "A girl must be modest at all times."

Elthin responded to Lucine's counter.

"Then why are we standing here discussing it?! It's nearly noon!" Lucine shot back. "If you don't come along, then I'll just do it myself!"

"I have to agree with Freya on this one," Elthin stated.

Lucine then said she'd go alone.

"I never said that I wasn't going but if you think you're going out by yourself then you are dead wrong!" Elthin warned.

"Who's going to stop me?" Lucine retaliated. "If you're so fixed on making sure I don't go out alone, then kick your lazy ass into gear and get to the Square."

"I will stop you!" Elthin warned her again.

He went over and then grabbed her hand pulling her along. "Then we will go together if that's how you want things." He dragged her along to the door of the room.

Elthin, once more, jumped the gun and forced his preferred outcome onto Lucine. She began to fight against his hold and protest using her usual methods.

"Hey, don't leave Coral behind!" Coral protested as she hurried on after the pair.

"Always quick to exercise control." Freya sighed with a shake of her head.

"Brutish." Syl quietly commented.

As Lucine started to fight back Elthin let her go and turned to face her.

"I'm growing tired with how you are treating me as of late. If you want things to be better between us then treat me nicely and I will do the same to you. If not then things will be harshly between us." Elthin tells her and he waits for the others.

Elthin responded in kind and stated that kindness begets kindness, and the opposite leads to like.

"Well, you never listen to me, you're always bossing me around, you're always shouting at me and you never treat me nice!" Lucine countered. "You always want me to do just as you say I should, you don't let me go out alone and you're always asking me questions which I don't wanna answer! You're worse than you say I am!"

"More food? But Coral's not hungry..." Coral mused to herself as she looked upon the arguing pair.

The others present would be following along, but the arguing pair was blocking the door.

"And neither do you you're always putting me down and shouting back at me. Look at how things turned out I take you into my home as my guest and you treat me like I treat you. If things are ever to be put on the right track again then we both need to change." Elthin stated.

Coral thought there was more food.

Elthin stepped out the door and waited for the others.

"I'm not gonna change until you treat me better!" Lucine shot back as she pursued Elthin out of the door, allowing for the others to follow along. "I'm stopping that execution, no matter what!"

Lucine then stormed off towards the door of the house in a huff.

For a very brief moment Elthin felt like raising his hand and striking Lucine. Across the face but he held back from doing so. "We, will stop it together!"

He followed along after her.

Lucine was beyond caring about whatever complaints Elthin may throw her way as she continued along down the streets, forcing her way past people when needed, towards the Square. The others, including Coral, stayed behind Elthin and carried on at a brisk pace, with Coral looking upon all the new sights, sounds and smells of the City as she did so.

Once outside Elthin made sure to stay in the middle keeping an eye on Lucine. Along with one on Coral as he didn't want anything bad to happen. He watched as Coral looked upon all the sights and sounds of the city around her. Then back over at Lucine who pulled ahead of the group.

Lucine showed no signs of slowing down as she approached the main Square. Due to the sheer volume of people milling around at the chance of witnessing an execution, the streets were hard to navigate through if people weren't forcing their way through them like Lucine was.

Coral continued to look upon everything the City had to offer, and was actually attracting some attention due to how out of place she looked. Unlike the deeply tanned residents of Brascus, Coral was rather fair skinned and carried more of a Seafarer's complexion, being a little more lighter than the more common folk in the City. Her aqua blue hair also drew more eyes than would be suitably acceptable. Her youthful appearance and lost-looking behaviour could also attract the attention of even greater threats than a few merchants trying to extort money out of 'Tourists'.

It was hard to keep track of Lucine due to how many people. Were on the streets wanting to see the execution. Plus just moving around was also a pain in the ass.

While Coral still looked around the City. Elthin took notice how others were starting to look at her. This wasn't something that he wanted to deal with as since she was new. Everything sort of bad thing could happen to her. He moved back towards her and took her small hand into his own. While gently walking her along and explaining things to her out the city the best he can.

Elthin decided to fall back and look after the newest arrival to the city. Coral, as if it was almost natural to her, held Elthin's hand as she continued to look around. Like before, Elthin's vision was once more tinted a pale blue around the edges, and lots of blue orbs appeared in the streets, near enough reaching the same amount as people who were present.

Faint whispers of numerous arguments and disagreements circled the blue orbs as Elthin continued on. The trail Lucine had took was now showing a deep blue trail echoing her every step as a large dome of blue began to appear over her as she stormed on, moving out of Elthin's sight and getting lost among the crowds. However, the homing trail dutifully followed her, allowing Elthin to see just where she went.

When Elthin held Coral's hand his vision returned to the way it was before. This time there were many blue orbs around the city streets. He heard Faint whispers of people arguing and disagreements as he passed by the orbs. He even was able to pick up Lucine's trail which was blue and was moving out of sight. But she was easy to follow as Elthin knew just where she was going.

Despite the change in visibility, Elthin continued on, following the faint trail left behind by Lucine, and reaching the main Square. The gallows were looking rather populated as there was now row upon row of people waiting for the inevitable execution to take place. The large clock on the Guild's clock tower showed it to be nearing noon, with only a few minutes to spare. Lucine was now completely lost in the crowds, save for the very evident blue dome over her current location. The dome appeared to encompass her only, and nobody else seemed to be even aware of her presence as they were too focused on the gallows. Lucine had edged her way closer and closer to the stairs leading up to the structure.

They had reached the main square and the gallows were looking rather populated. As a group of people were waiting for the execution to take place and the Guild's clock tower showed. That it was nearing noon, with only a few minutes left. Lucine was now lost amongest the crowd though a blue dome was over her telling Elthin where she was. She seemed to be moving closer and closer to the stairs.

Elthin let go of Coral's hand and started to move forwards towards the stairs as well.

Shortly after Elthin removed his hand from Coral's, the blue dome over Lucine and the tracking line towards her location disappeared, leaving Lucine completely lost in the crowd to Elthin's eyes. There was something going on down where Lucine's last known location was but, due to the sheer amount of people gathered around the gallows platform, anybody on the outer edge of the crowd were blissfully unaware of anything going on.

Elthin last track of Lucine once had let go of Coral. So he had lost track of her with his eyes however as removed. Other last known location he found moving through the crowd to be a problem. As he tried to force his way through the crowd he found his way. Blocked on multiple paths as everyone wasn't moving quick enough to his liking he slipped past a few other humans.

Elthin continued to try and reach where he last saw Lucine, but the mass of onlookers to this coming execution blocked his path on multiple fronts. Lucine had completely merged with the crowd now, leaving no traces of her previous locations to anyone.

One of the onlookers near the stairs was unceremoniously thrown to the side and landed on the floor as the tail-end of what looked like a traveller's cloak was dragged back into the sea of people. The onlooker, of course, was shouting obscenities at the crowd, seemingly complaining about a 'thief' and demanding their cloak back. The large clock on the Guild's Clock tower began to strike Midday as the crowd livened up some more.

Elthin was now at a loss for words on where to find Lucine. With all the people around him he didn't know where she was. As he looked around and moved slowly forward he heard someone yell out about a 'thief' he moved slowly in that direction until he reached the person who was complaining. "Did you see who it was who took your cloak, I'll make sure to get it back for you?" Elthin asked.

Going by the only lead he could find on Lucine's potential whereabouts, Elthin decided to question the poor unfortunate soul who happened to be on the receiving end of sticky fingers,

"You that little bandit's Father, or somethin'?" The traveller questioned Elthin. It was clear that they weren't from a local area judging by the kind of accent on their words. "Some angry lookin' midget 'alf-inched my Cloak! Long red 'air an' wearin' a black dress. Sort ya spawn out, mate!"

"Something like that yes, I normally don't allow my children to steal from others. I will get your cloak back sir." Elthin told the man as he took all that the man said about the person's discription. "Do you by chance happen to know in which direction they headed off to?" Elthin asked.

Elthin asked where this 'Angry Looking Red Haired Midget' went.

"T'ward the Stairs. Looked to 'ave some sort of fire-starter in 'er 'ands." The traveller replied. "Seemed fixed on burnin' the platform down, if 'er mutterin' was 'er plan."

Elthin learned that the person had went toward the stairs and was fixing. On burning down the platform. Not wanting to couse a bigger mess if Lucine was able to go through with this he thanked the man and hurried towards the platform keeping an eye out for a small girl wearing a cloak who had red hair.

Not wanting to waste any time and causing another display of pyromania, Elthin quickly hurried off towards the stairs leading up to the main platform. The crowd was no help, as it never was, and proved to be quite troublesome in navigating through. If Lucine did head this way, she must have used her small size to slink through gaps between people.

The pre-execution ceremony began, and Lord Arundal's egotistical voice hushed the crowd.

"Citizens of Brascus, today we bring you a spectacle sure to delight all of you. It has been many a moon since our last gathering like this, and the want for Justice against the crimes committed towards our fair City must demand to be sated. In the past few days, we have been subjected to, not one, but two arson attacks against our city. One of them happened in the slums, but that is not what we demand justice for, is it?"

"NO!" The crowd shouted back.

"Most certainly, the one we want to see blood spilled over is the one which happened merely a few paces from where we are all gathered. In the early hours of yesterday evening, our Apothecary was mercilessly burned to the ground for the sick amusement of some lesser citizens! While the people inside were expendable, nothing more than foreigners in our City, the service they provided was, no doubt, a necessity to our lives. Some of you may be pleased that they remain unharmed, but that is of no concern. What we want to see is the scum responsible for the destruction meet the punishment they deserve!"

The crowd exploded in cheers as there was a break in the presentation.

The going through the crowd after Lucine was rather troublesome. As he was unable to reach it thanks to his size someone like Lucine would find it easier to move through this mess of people. Soon Lord Arundel began to speak up and Elthin listened as he still headed towards the platform.

As he listened to what was said Elthin got a sick feeling in his stomach. As it was his fault that Freya's home and business had been burned to the ground. He still hurried towards the platform wanting catch up to Lucine.

As Elthin continued his pursuit, the presentation from the Gallows resumed.

"These brigands claim to have been hoarding the Elemental stones for innocent means, however, that is not what the evidence suggests! First, they admit to the thoughtless theft of such precious materials, saying that they had not the funds to obtain them through normal means. If they cannot afford them, then they have no right to take them, that is the basics of Business. That is what this City thrives on! If we hand out our precious resources freely, then we would not survive as there will be nothing returning to the economy."

Just peaking over the edges of the gallows was the hood of a Midnight blue cape, with a burning red afterglow on the side hidden behind the body of the cape.

"Secondly, they were at the scene of the crime, supposedly salvaging charcoal to keep their Forges burning. Due to their earlier transgressions, it would be clear and correct to assume that they also burned down the only Wooden Building in the city so they could gain access to 'free' resources once more. The wanton destruction of a precious lifeline to the city, and the brazen disregard to the very laws this City was founded on, can only be met in kind. They have endangered the very lives of you fair citizens by destroying the only place where we can gain access to remedies and services to cure what ails us. A life for a life!"

Elthin was still listening as he moved forward as he neared the Gallows he tried to see just who. It was that was on them to get a better understand of who was being put on trail for the actions. That had been caused by him and Lucine. He was also able to see the hood of the Midnight blue cape with a burning red afterglow. He knew that had to be Lucine and headed towards it.

"Damn it I won't let you cause a mess." Elthin whispered to himself.

As he neared the girl he rose a hand slowly and tried to picture the ground. Underneath her he pictured the cloak on her and pictured Lucine in his mind and tried to cast a spell. That would try and lock her feet to the ground in a small ice chain attached to the ground.

Elthin attempted to lock the Cloaked Assailant in place by using Ice Magic, forgetting the very basics of Elemental Match-ups. The ice chains latched on to the figure, who simply looked at them and gestured, causing a trail of flame to melt the chains holding them, as they continued on, unaffected by the attempted delay. If this was Lucine up there, she wasn't acting like her normal self at all.

"We may want for revenge, but we are a civil group. We must first trial them on their actions in front of the entirety of those affected. It is all fair the Guild passing judgement, as has always been in days of old, but we were not directly affected. No, you were the ones troubled by their actions. You are the ones who have the right to decide their fate." Lord Arundal continued. "Bring them up, so we can all see what foul monsters destroyed our precious City."

The people on trial were yanked onto the gallows platform. Local people would recognise them as the City Blacksmiths. There was the Master Blacksmith himself, a middle aged man dressed in usual middle-class attire, with coal black hair and beard and deep brown eyes. The next in line to the business, a young man, also dressed in middle class attire, barely older than twenty, with equally dark hair and growing stubble. And, finally, the youngest in the family, a small girl, her face streaming with tears as she was practically thrown onto the platform by the executioner. She was dressed in a tattered hemp dress which was stained with soot. She had long black hair, ragged and dishevelled due to possibly spending the night in a cell. She was attempting to plead her case as innocent, but, due to her current distraught state, couldn't even form the words to speak.

The Master Blacksmith was clearly angered by the actions of those who think themselves 'better' than him, but did a good job at hiding it from the Jury. His eldest son was also trying to plead their innocence, only to be slapped across the face by the leather glove of the executioner.

The cloaked figure how now reached the top step and was swirling the embers in their hand, coaxing them to spark and ignite stronger than they had before.

Elthin felt that his spell had the affect he wanted it to have only. Then to learn that it had been countered and burned away, This also seemed strange to Elthin as Lucine wouldn't have been able to burn them away so easily. But maybe in her current state of mind Lucine tapped into that power from the other day to do so. An Lord Arundel spoke up once again.

Elthin stopped for a moment and watched as the people on trial were yanked up onto. The gallows platform he saw who they were. He knew these people as Elthin had gotten some work done at their store on one of his swords. The Master Blacksmith and his family didn't deserve this sort of punishment and as Elthin saw the young girl he was reminded of Lucine. Wondering what she would be going through if it was her up there. Not wanting to let innocent people suffer Elthin saw the cloaked figure reach the top step.

He wasn't about to let her mess things up but Elthin was not about to let. This family be harmed either Elthin then started to chant in casting a spell which would surely get himself into trouble. But at the moment he didn't care. "Come, Spirits of Ice! Spread Forth into the Air! Tundra and Glacier in the Realm of White Night! Frozen Earth!" **Crystallizatio Tellustris (Frozen Earth)"** This spell causes all moisture near the earth's surface to instantly freeze, causing jagged pillars of ice to jut up from the ground. If not dodged effectively, the opponent's feet will be likewise frozen to the spot, immobilizing them.

Elthin pointed his hands at the girl on the top step. "Wait, Wait this is unfair punishment!" Elthin yelled out. Hoping to catch Lord Arundel's attention.

Seeing as how his previous attempt had ended in failure, Elthin tried a much bigger, more risky spell. Ice began to shoot out from the ground around the square, causing even more of a commotion and attracting the attention of the Jury. The cloaked figure, on the other hand, deftly avoided nearly all the ice blasting up around them. The ones they could not avoid were melted in an instant by a Shield of pure fire which began to cloak them. It was clear that this was not the 'Lucine' Elthin had been training. This was the automatic reaction one, the part of her that shielded her from both the inferno of her home and the conflagration of the Apothecary. This was her blinded by rage, a truly terrifying display similar to a raging inferno.

Elthin didn't need to shout to attract Lord Arundal's attention. The spell he had cast was enough.

"So you seek to stop me once more, 'Hero of the Downtrodden'." Lord Arundal huffed to Elthin, a clear mocking tone on the title he'd given him. "Well, you have my attention, and my Ire. Come, tell us why these fiends should be allowed to run free after causing some much suffering for the people of this City?"

Elthin's spell might have made Lucine happy if she had seen it. As it was a rather risky spell Ice began to shoot up from the square around everyone. Causing a bigger commotion and attracting the attention of the Jury. The cloaked figure was about to avoided nearly all of the ice blasting around them and melted the ones that were near them. Elthin now knew this person wasn't the 'Lucine' he had been training. This was the one who he had faced when the Apothecary had been burned down.

Lord Arundel got his attention.

Elthin stopped casting spells and walked up towards the platform. He ignored the title that had been given to him and spoke his piece.

"These people are innocent, and should be given a chance to plead their case. What need is there to place them on trial when they were not the ones who caused the fires in the first place," Elthin stated. He looked at the family before him "I also have done business with the Master Blacksmith here he's a good and kind hearted man who. Cares deeply about his home and family along with the items that he creates. His young daughter should even be here this isn't something someone so young should either witness of be put through. Let her go let all of them go or I will stop you myself!"

Elthin decided to take the defense of the Blacksmith's family.

"What evidence do you have to support this?" Lord Arundal countered confidently. "You are but one person against an entire City. What one's past may have been does not excuse them of the crimes they commit today. If we let thieves and arsonists roam free, then how can we say we're supporting the side of Justice and seeking to protect the people under our care? This 'girl' is nothing more than a thief. She stole the Fire Elemental Stone right from under the Alchemist's eyes as she attempted to 'seduce' him with her 'innocence'."

"It wasn't seduction M'lord." The Alchemist cut in. "She threw a tantrum and faked crying while her brother stole the Elemental Stone. Said she needed it to help rekindle the forge and that business had been too slow to afford it. Tried to cut me down to a tenth of the price. Daylight robbery, that! I've got a business to run!"

"But we do need the stone!" The Blacksmith's son retaliated. "Without the forge, we can't temper the metal to make the swords you people use to kill 'scum' like us! Charging twenty thousand gold pieces for a hunk of burning rock is just pure greed!"

The Master Blacksmith was the only one not trying to defend himself.

"Bless your soul, M'Lord." The blacksmith weakly smiled to Elthin. "We did steal the stone and, for that, we'll have to pay the price. These stubborn fools just place the blame of the fire onto us as we were the closest to the scene when it happened. We've got nothing to say we didn't cause it. We did have a Fire Elemental stone on us, after all."

Lord Arundel spoke up.

"You want evidence my evidence is that I was there when the fire. Took place and not once did I see any of these kind people here anywhere near the place." Elthin countered. "If we do let thieves and arsonists run free then we are not doing Justice. We are letting them commit crimes against those people who are innocent."

Elthin listened as the Alchemist spoke and then the blacksmith's son speak up.

"We all have businesses to run but there are times when. One person or family can't do that couldn't you have just agreed to the price to what the girl was asking. Perhaps that would have helped them beable to afford the stone instead of stealing it or not." Elthin turned to the blacksmiths son.

"I agree with you there would have you been able to afford the stone at a lower price?" Elthin asked.

He turned to the Master Blacksmith who spoke up next.

"But your deaths isn't the sort of punishment that you guys deserve. I will gladly pay for a elemental then you were for I was inside it when the business went up in flames."

Elthin continued the defense.

"Then how can we be sure that you didn't commit the crime to create a distraction so the thieves could escape the Law?" Lord Arundal countered. "You've already proven to be a supporter of those dregs of society with housing a Slum Concubine for your own personal entertainment. Made her go the full way with you yet, or are you more the kind to dominate than to be dominated?"

"Madness!" The Alchemist exclaimed. "To even think of selling as precious an item as an Elemental stone at a mere two thousand gold pieces is inexcusable! Do you understand the time and effort put into making those things?!"

"Even two thousand would've been a substantial drain." The Blacksmith's son answered. "We barely have enough to afford food and water, let alone that."

Elthin offered to reimburse the cost of the Elemental stone.

"You truly are kind, M'lord, but I just can't accept something like that. If we live off the generosity of others, then we are just supporting His claims." The Blacksmith replied.

Elthin listened as Lord Arundal spoke.

"Why would I have need to start a fire?" Elthin questioned him. Then when he spoke about Lucine Elthin felt the rage build up inside of him. He walked over to Lord Arundal and punched him square in the face. "How dare you speak of her like that. I would never do any sort of that with her!"

"I do understand how long it takes. But still people need to make a living. How can a family afford your prices. When they are unable to work?"

Elthin listened as the son spoke his earlier anger already gone. Then the Master Blacksmith spoke and Elthin wasn't sure on what to say.

Lord Arundal's taunting had their desired effect. He merely smiled confidently when Elthin attempted to punch him in the face. Lord Arundal's barrier flickered slightly as Elthin's fist impacted it and stopped a few centimetres short of its intended target.

"The truth hurts worse than a blade, I take it?" Lord Arundal countered with a grin. "What does it matter to us if we violently remove their 'chastity'? They're nothing more than lesser beings, parasites leeching life from the people worth something. They should feel blessed to even be considered to be a suitable recipient for venting our frustrations."

Elthin wasn't able to punch Lord Arundal in the face like he had wanted to. As a barrier appeared before he was able to. "What about you have you already stuck your manhood into the behind. Of your student I've seen the way you look at him. And know that those lewd thoughts are always on your mind!" Elthin countered.

'There is more to them then just venting our frustrations. But you wouldn't know that would you as you've never even tried to engage in normal conversation with them. Or even spend a day talking with them. You're too busy fucking every boy you come across!'

The argument between respected Guild Members might not have been the entertainment the locals came for, but it was certainly starting to become the entertainment they were engaging in. Who needs an execution when there's a comedy double act of the 'Exceptional Nobles' playing out on a makeshift stage? The audience were erupting into laughter as the two battled it out with insults and degradation of one another.

Elthin's probing and insinuations had managed to crack the 'in control' persona that Lord Arundal was showing.

"You dare to insult a Lord of this City, foreigner?!" Lord Arundal retaliated, anger clear in his voice. "I care not for whatever backwater place you came from, or whatever standing you may have fucked your way up to, but I will not stand for you besmirching my family's Honor!"

It was clear that he was now ready for a fight, in the middle of all these onlookers...

"We may have an agreed arrangement for our match, but I refuse to stand here and wait for that to come while you continue to spout your false accusations!"

The audience was starting to watch the show on stage. And were erupting into laughter as they battled it out with insults and degradation of one another. Lord Arundal's persona soon started to crack.

"I dare insult you 'Lord' because I have every right to! You're nothing more then a lowly worm who is beneath me. If I so wished to I could crush you like the lowly worm that you are!" Elthin stated.

It was clear that Lord Arundal was ready for a fight and Elthin would give him one.

"If you so wish to fight me then bring it on gay boy!"

"To protect my Family's honor, I accept your challenge, Slum-gigolo!" Lord Arundal retaliated.

"Don't you two ever shut the fuck up?" A condescending childish voice came from the rafters of the gallows. "You're both just egotistical gay boys who'd rather fuck each other than speak sense. Gonna fight with your dicks? Cock slapping is a sport among the gays."

The figure in the cape jumped from the rafters and landed on the platform a little ways away from the arguing duo.

"Stay out of this, child! Run along home to your parents and leave the adults to their business." Lord Arundal shot back to the new entrant.

"What adults? All I see are two childish gay boys comparing dick sizes. Just so you know, I've seen bigger dicks on mice than you two put together." The figure taunted.

Just as Lord Arundal and Elthin were about to start their battle. The figure in the cape jumped from the rafters and landed on the platform a short distance away from them.

"You've finally decided to show yourself. Just who are you anyway you seem highly skilled for someone your age. To be able to dodge my mid-level spell like you did?" Elthin asked. Completely dropped the argument with Lord Arundal and now address the newcomer.

Elthin questioned the new arrival and asked just how they were so skilled.

"Come on, you've already forgotten me? Do you only see me as the weak Apprentice you've been forced to train? Do you see me as someone who can't even make a simple Barrier spell work like it should?" The figure answered. "I'm like you, but ten times better. Countering a weak Ice spell with Fire is just basic chemistry,"

"You seem incredibly confident in your own abilities." Lord Arundal replied to the figure. "Overconfidence will just lead to your own downfall, in the end. A flame can be snuffed out if there's no oxygen to support it."

"Everything burns, pretty boy, even people." The figure responded with a slight chuckle as they slammed their hand into the wooden platform of the gallows. A plume of flame erupted from the impact point and the wooden structure began to catch alight.

"Yet how have you gotten so powerful in such a short amount of time. Clearly, it was nothing that I could have done to make you so much stronger." Elthin told Lucine having forgotten about her for a moment when he was arguing with Lord Arundal.

Lord Arundal spoke up again and Elthin turned to him. 'Stay out of this you don't know what you're getting yourself into!" Elthin warned him.

He turned back to Lucine.

"So, here you are, I take you plan on getting revenge on everyone here?"

"I've just allowed the powers to flow freely through me. Magicians like you weaklings put limiters on yourself, preventing the raw power for working as it should. That's why you're ten times weaker than me. Remove the limiter, and you'll be much stronger." Lucine(?) answered.

Lord Arundal was about to resume his argument with Elthin, until Lucine(?) set fire to the gallows. The audience began to flee in panic, causing chaos to erupt in the square once more.

"How dare you interrupt my Execution!" Lord Arundal angrily shouted at Lucine(?).

"Evacuate! Seek and Suppress! Nix Engage! Civilian Safety Paramount!" Familiar Battle-tongue could barely be heard over the chaos in the square.

Ellara's Peacekeepers funneled into the square and began to evacuate the civilians, including the ones set for the trail of execution. The Inquisitor herself vaulted onto the burning gallows and attempted to remove Elthin and Lord Arundal from the burning platform.

"Just what the hell did you do this time?!" Ellara exclaimed to Elthin as she tried to drag him off.

Lucine spoke about limiters and how by removing them. They would allow someone to get far stronger. But they did come with side effects as in the past some people were. Known to go out of control when removing their own limiters. Elthin had one placed on his person not wishing to go out of control or harm anyone.

"We, put limiters on ourselves so that we don't go. Out of control and harm others like you might do any second." Elthin warned her.

Lucine then set fire to the gallows and Elthin quickly put the fire out. Using his ice magic while the audience started to flee in terror.

"Get out of here!" Elthin shouted at Lord Arundal as he then heard a familiar voice speak up. He turned to see Ellara coming towards him with her Peacekeepers. She jumped onto the burning platform and tried to pull him off of it.

"I didn't do anything!" Elthin snapped as he pulled away his arm from her. He looked over at Lucine again and then a look of worry formed on his face, He had been so caught up in his arguments with Lord Arundal and Lucine that. He didn't know what had become of Freya and the others. Let alone Coral who might be scared and crying right now. He didn't know how dragons acted in this sort of manner. He suddenly turned away from Lucine and the others. Jumped off the stage and started to search for Coral.

"Coral, Coral where are you?" Elthin cried out in a panic.

He was starting to panic something totally unlike him. He didn't want any harm to come to Coral let alone see the Inquisitors come and take her away.

Elthin attempted to douse the fires raging on with his magic but, like inside of the Apothecary, these fires were not naturally made, and were sprouting up again as fast as he was putting them out. One Magician alone couldn't douse these, and it's unlikely they'll go so long as the Magician keeping them going was still able to channel their power into them.

Lord Arundal, much like Elthin, refused to go quietly and actively tried to combat the attempted retrieval by Ellara. Where she failed, her Peacekeepers were able to restrain him enough to remove him from the burning platform.

"So the famed 'Inquisitor' shows herself once more." Lucine(?) condescendingly announced. "I'm not sure how to deal with such a persistent stalker."

"I've not got time for your little performance!" Ellara countered. "You've become quite the public nuisance, and it's my role as an Inquisitor to ensure public peace."

For some reason, Elthin's resistance to removal increased significantly as he actively jumped off the platform and headed into the chaos of evacuation.

"Get your ass out of here!" Ellara ordered Elthin. "Do you wanna burn with the gallows?!"

Elthin ran into the chaos of the evacuation. He was worried about Coral which was something that he couldn't really explain way of. Could it be that he had failed to protect Lucine when she needed him the most. And that he didn't want to see the same thing happen with Coral or could it be a totally different reason.

"Coral, Coral?" Elthin called out.

As he ran and dodged the raging fires people we screaming and crying for help. As they rushed towards him to escape the chaos.

"Freya, Freya where are you?" Elthin called out.

Elthin continued to try and find his missing 'family' in the evacuation in progress.

"Lost something?" Lucine(?) called to Elthin from her place on the platform. "That runt's probably been trampled already. Forget about her, you never wanted her in the first place. She just showed up out of nowhere and made your life a misery. Isn't that what you think of me as well?"

Lucine jumped off the platform and the inferno began to move with her, crackling flames licking at the parched sands and tempering them into something close to glass.

"After all, didn't you lead the perfect simple life before any of this happened, Little Princeling? Casually going about your day, ignoring those who society says are beneath you. Had it not been for meeting me, your life would've continued in blissful ignorance of the plights of those in the 'Lower Rungs' of society. Isn't that right?" Lucine(?) questioned Elthin. "That runt's just another freeloader. She's not worth worrying about. Why treat her any differently?"

Lucine's words seemed to get to Elthin as he tired not to think about. His new 'daughter' being trampled to death he just kept running forward. Around the flames and past the other people as he called out to her. "That's all you've done since the damned Inqu showed up." Elthin countered. As he went back to calling out to Coral and Freya but getting nothing back.

Lucine jumped off the platform and started to follow him. She questioned him about his life and why he was treating Coral differently then her.

"You know nothing of my life so don't think you can question me. About living the simple life when all you are is a no good whore!" Elthin's anger toward's Lucine resurfaced again for a moment. Before he pushed it back down. Elthin didn't answer Lucine's last question.

Elthin's anger towards Lucine resurfaced once more.

"That's what you truly think. That's all you've ever thought of me since you first had the misfortune of being stuck with me." Lucine retaliated, sounding rather pleased by Elthin's show of anger. "Why didn't you just leave me to bleed out in the ruins? Or, you could've handed me over to the Guild as soon as you had the chance. I'm sure it would've been me up on that burning wreck today had that happened. I'm certain you would've been watching with the other egotistical wankers when they pulled the lever and the noose tightened around my neck. You would've cheered in delight when you noticed the life sapping from my body and my writhing turning to limp flopping. When the life finally drained from my face, and my body hung limp, would that have made you happy? Why not do that now? I'm here, and waiting for you to do it. Perhaps you don't have the balls to kill someone. Is that why you've dragged me around all this time?"

Elthin was about to call out to the others again when he turned. Around and stared at Lucine as she spoke to him.

"You know nothing of me or how I truly felt towards you. You'll never even ever know why I saved you from the ruins that day." Elthin snapped he wasn't about to let Lucine know his true reasons. As he had been living a rather lonely life. Up until then just moving from town to town studying all the time always traveling. He wished to find someone to spend time with a show. Them the exciting stuff in his life. Sure he could have found someone his own age but he never had much luck. When he found Lucine he thought that could change that she might be interested in his sort of life style.

"You wish for me to kill you or is it the other way around I know you wish to kill me. As all I've done is betray you and cause you nothing but grief and pain. Maybe when I'm gone your life will feel just a little bit better. Well come on now I'm standing right here kill me and be done with it!"

Elthin retaliated by claiming that Lucine was using reverse psychology.

"Why would I need to know the reasons? We've been given the ability to make educated guesses, and that's enough for me." Lucine answered.

Lucine stopped a few paces away from Elthin, and the flames stopped with her.

"Kill or be killed, it matters not to me. I only wish to either see another's life ended, or have my own ended. Either way, the result is the same, isn't it? Life has no meaning, the only truth is the inevitable end. We suffer from when we're born until the day we die." Lucine finished.

"Have your domestic elsewhere!" Ellara cut in. "Stop her, or would you rather me do it?!"

Gale winds began to blow around the plaza as a sudden downpour began to assail all those inside. The plaza had been mostly evacuated now, save for a few stragglers who were just being escorted out. At the eye of this Storm was the Inquisitor herself, with her rapier pointed towards the sky and the winds blasting forth from it. Most of the fires had been doused by this sudden rainstorm, save for the ones around Lucine.

Elthin listened to what Lucine had to say once more.

"Because if you knew them perhaps things might change your little mind."

Both sides wished to be killed and stood only few feet away from each other. A rain started to fall upon the pair as Ellara spoke up once more.

"You won't touch her!" Elthin yelled at her.

Then turned back to Lucine he had two ways of saving her. Either to kill her with his own two hands or save her some how. He decided to save her with her guard down for the moment. As she was waiting for him to make a move to try and kill her. Instead he ran at her and wrapped both arms around her. Holding her tightly as he felt the flames around her start to burn his skin and clothes.

"I was all alone until I met you living a lonely boring life. When I met you I thought things had changed."

"Then hurry the hell up and stop her already! Keeping up a storm of this magnitude isn't easy and it's the only thing keeping this entire city from burning down!" Ellara retaliated.

With the pair caught in a standoff at the moment, Lucine wasn't expecting a sudden attempt to grapple. The latent flames around Lucine began to burn Elthin once more as he tried to reason with her. Being the smaller of the two, and the one without much physical strength, keeping Lucine pinned in one place was rather easy. However, with enough exposure to the flames around her, even the steeliest of grips may be reduced to nothing in minutes, As expected, she tried to break out of the grapple, but wasn't having much success.

"Let go of me!" Lucine ordered Elthin as she tried to break free.

Elthin began to reel off the reasons behind taking Lucine into his custody. Of course, Lucine attempted to defend her own reasoning.

"Why not just pick up any Slum Girl at a whorehouse like the rest of you bastards do?! You're more sick than any other wanker if you're into little girls!"

"Go pee in a bucket and shut the hell up!" Elthin snapped at her.

Elthin was sick of Ellara's yelling at him to hurry up. As the flames burned him he didn't cry out in pain or anything. He let them do their work upon him and as Lucine tried to fight back and escape. Elthin held onto her arms with his hands.

"You think I'm into little girls and only picked you up. Becuase I wanted a quick happy fun time with you. I picked you up from those ruins because I didn't want to see another Slum Girl left to die. I thought that I could have given you a better life. I offered you everything a home, a place to study a wide world to travel in. I gave you a life most of your kind never get a chance to see or even take part in."

"What the hell's that mean to mean?!" Ellara shot back.

Elthin continued to explain his reasons behind the 'abduction'.

"What does it matter to you people if another Slum Dweller dies?" Lucine countered. "All you people see us as are expendable slaves for both pleasure and labour! Why waste your life dragging an insignificant waste of space around?"

"Because I'm one of those people who have seen Slum Dweller's die and no. One ever cares about them or says that they will miss them. They only use them for slaves or pleasure as you put it. I wanted you around because I had started to care for you and was begining to see you as a younger sister. I enjoyed having you around as you brought happiness to my life!"

"You're only saying that to save your own life! You wouldn't really care if all the Slum Dwellers died! It'll only be a minor set-back for you fat fucks as you'll have to get off your fat lazy asses for once in your lives!" Lucine argued.

The intensity of the flames around her were dying down slightly, but something was still preventing her from fully returning to her normal self. Mere words and actions won't be that effective anymore unless the reasons behind her anger were addressed.

The flames around Lucine began to die down just a little but they were still fully there. But there was still something more that was holding Lucine back.

"I would care if you died! I would always care I cared about you" Elthin tells her. As he lets go of her arms. "You're sad and hurting on the inside for something that I had done to you. I don't know how you felt about me or if you even enjoyed being in my company. I never meant to upset you or hurt you in anyway. I want you around me and even though we are currently at odds with one another. I'm still trying to fix things between us. I want the old Lucine back who was an enjoyable person to be around. I want to enjoy your company again I want to see you happy and smile!"

Elthin attempted to cull the problem at its route, but fell short of the reason.

"Then why do you keep trying to hand me over to someone else?!" Lucine countered. "You throw me aside whenever another girl comes into your life. You forget that I exist and care only for the newest girl you've got to know! We're nothing more than cheap thrill material to you!"

"You won't let me help you every time I try to fix things. We always end up arguing with each other. That was my anger at you getting the best of me. And everytime I tried to give you away did I know and the reason why I care so much for Coral. Is because I don't want to see what happened with you happen with her!" Elthin countered.

"You care so much for that new kid because she's a Dragon! She's money! You only wanna fatten her up so you can sell her parts to the highest bidder and live a trouble free life!" Lucine retorted. "Much like you only wanna train me so you can sell me to the Inquisition as fodder for them!"

"Get it through that damn thick skull of yours I not doing anything like that. She's not going to be given over to them at all and neither are you. I don't know if you care to hear this or not but at one point I started to love you yes love you. Not in a sort of way that would only see me as wanting something in return. But the love someone has for a fellow sibling like how you love your sister and family. That was the sort of love I had for you I saw you as a little sister. Who I wanted to protect who I wanted to save who I cared deeply for."

"You said that before, but you still tried to give me away! As soon as things got a little tough for you, you tried to throw me away to another to look after! You're not meant to have a family if you can't even care for those you claim are like family to you! Life's tough, get over it and grow up!"

The flames around Lucine began to flare into life once more.

"Papa!" Coral shouted over the storm as she came running to his side. "Papa, what's happening?! Why is Sis all fiery? Why's it raining so much? What's going on?"

The flames grew around Lucine again and Elthin was at a loss for what to do. Lucine just did not seem to understand things and neither did Elthin.

"No I'm not meant to have a family or anything. I don't know what I want I just don't want to be alone anymore. I don't know what I want anymore!" Elthin moved away from her as he heard Coral shout over the storm.

"Coral don't come any closer, please stay where you are. Sis is all fiery because she is upset with me and its raining because. Magic was cast in the surrounding area please stay with Freya and the others if you come near me and Sis you will only get hurt!"

"Coral's staying until Papa and Sis stop fighting!" Coral retaliated. "Papa and Sis have done nothing but fight all day, and Coral doesn't want that anymore!"

The young Dragon was adamant that she wasn't going anywhere until all this had been resolved.

Coral spoke about wanting them both to stop fighting.

Elthin was in a tuff spot as he didn't know how to make things up with Lucine. When she wouldn't listen to him and he didn't want something bad to happen to Coral either.

Elthin gave in to Coral's insistence and was left at a loss of what to do. The young dragon, however, had a lot on her mind to get off.

"Sis, stop bullying Papa!" Coral ordered Lucine.

"You can't tell me what to do! _**I'm**_ the older sister, I make the rules!" Lucine countered.

"Then act like one! Stop being childish!"

"Says you! You're the newborn crybaby here, not me."

"Cora's not a crybaby!"

The pair had now gone off into a full blown argument about who's older and who;s not acting their age.

Coral and Lucine then got into an argument.

"Now, isn't the time for something like this." Elthin told the pair. He reached down and took hold of Lucine in his arms again, "Lucine you're the older sister so, stop acting childish and treat Coral with respect." Elthin then looked at Coral. "Coral please stop aruging with Sis and let's get out of here." Elthin told her.

He started to run over to Coral.

Elthin attempted to break the bickering duo up, but to no avail. Grabbing Lucine just caused her to get even more heated, and Coral was just as determined to win this argument as Lucine was.

"Stay out of this!" The duo ordered Elthin in unison.

The pair continued their argument, ranging from Coral's innocent name-calling to Lucine's usual language, with neither side giving ground for the other. They seemed just like blood-related siblings at the moment. Lucine's anger towards Elthin was now directed at coming up with speedy retorts to Coral's high-pressure argument responses.

The pair kept up their fighting and told Elthin to stay out of it.

"I told you both to knock it off if this fighting between you two. Keeps going them you will both be in big trouble!" Elthin warned. This being the first time that he would have to punish them ever.

Much like things they were claiming not to be, the girls completely ignored the warning from Elthin and kept their rally going.

"All this happened 'cos you can't make up with Papa!" Coral continued.

"It's his fault for being such an idiot!" Lucine countered. "I can see where you get your brains from!"

"Coral's not stupid! Sis is stupid!"

"Only stupid people call others stupid!"

Both girl's ignored Elthin's warning and kept their rally going.

Elthin by now had taken Coral's hand and was leading her away. From the platform while using the other hand to hold Lucine. "Coral, Lucine this is your last warning if you don't stop you both will be in big trouble." Elthin warned the pair for a final time.

The flames around Lucine had all but faded away now as the heat from them was directed into Lucine's argument. She was a little more like her old self now, if far more argumentative. Like before, neither girl heeded the warning given to them.

"Coral's had it with you acting like you own Papa!"

"Like you own him, instead! You're more of an attention seeker than I am, talking like a toddler and saying your name all the time!"

"Coral's not talking like a toddler! Coral is talking like Coral should talk!"

The flames had all been put out and Lucine was back to her old self for now at least. Once again they ignored Elthin's warning.

"I warned the both of you to stop this fighting when we get home you are both in for. A big punishment and the first person who will be up on the chopping block will be Lucine!" Elthin said.

He started to look around for Freya and the others.

Elthin informed the pair that they were in for some serious punishment when they got home.

"This is all that stupid baby's fault!" Lucine countered. "She should be punished, not me!"

"You started it, you big dummy!" Coral interjected. "You've done more bad things than Coral has!"

With the plaza evacuated and the flames simmering out, Elthin and the others were led out of the plaza by the peacekepers to be rejoined with Freya and her children.

"Coral is being punished to but it seems you're in need of an even bigger punishment," Elthin told Lucine.

Coral had spoken the truth and Lucine had indeed done more bad things then Coral had. Elthin already knew how he would punish Lucine. By doing the same thing that Freya had done with Syl but he was also thinking that Lucine needed something more then just that. Since her stuff was way worse.

Soon enough they found Freya and the others and started to head home. Elthin placed Lucine down on her feet.

The argument stopped for the time being upon the definite conclusion of punishment. However, the tension between the two was still very high.

Upon rejoining the rest, both Elthin and Coral got an earful from Freya, who stated that punishment was far too lenient for the things they'd done and the needless risks they took. Syl and Willow were left in charge of keeping the siblings away from one another to prevent further arguments from breaking out.

Elthin wasn't too happy with getting an earful from Freya. About the risks and things that he had done. But it was something he needed to hear as they walked home together. As Elthin walked he stayed near Lucine just in case she tried anything funny. The group soon arrived home after a short trip and they entered the living room area.

"Lucine you're up first if you will please come over to me?" Elthin asked.

When the group entered the house, Elthin declared that Lucine was, indeed the first for punishment.

"Like hell I'm going to just let you do that!" Lucine shot back as she tried to run out of the house, only to have Syl and Willow on door guard/ The quickly slammed the door and stood in front of it to prevent Lucine's exit.

"Fair's fair, Lu." Willow grinned at her.

"You've been bad, so you need to be punished." Syl concluded.

Lucine was left with little option however, she made no attempt to return to the punishment area.

"This is my house and as long as you're under this roof whatever Freya or I says goes." Elthin warned her. She then tried to run out of the house and Willow and Syl stopped her. By closing the door on her.

Elthin then went over and took Lucine gently by the arm and pulled. Her into the punishment area where he was about to start Lucine's punishment."If you would please raise your dress and pull down your underwear. Then lean over my lap we can begin."

With her escape route closed off by onlookers, Lucine had nowhere left to run and was promptly pulled back into the room and requested to allow for the punishment to go through. Obviously, she didn't comply with the request.

"Make me." She defiantly retaliated.

Lucine wouldn't agree with what Elthin requested and instead demanded it to happen.

"If that's what you wish"

Elthin then reached down and pulled up Lucine's dress to show. Everyone her underwear he held onto her arm. To prevent her from trying to escape next he grabbed her underwear and pulled them down her legs in one quick motion. Before pulling her across his lap "If you end up wetting yourself like a baby during this punishment then you will be punished even more!" Elthin warned.

With Lucine over his lap he held onto her with all his strength not letting her leave. if she was trying to escape or make a break for it. When he had her firmly on his lap he brought down his hand as hard as he could on Lucine's behind. He smacked it again and again as hard as he could.

Going along with the 'request' from Lucine, Elthin began his punishment, prompting the usual kind of responses from his target. She tried to escape the iron grip through any means she could. She wasn't truly expecting it to go forth, as her whimpering would suggest when she found out that she couldn't escape. Her tough act was soon dropped when Elthin began the punishment properly.

The punishment went through quite like Freya's did to Syl. However, Lucine had marginally better control than Syl did, and only leaked slightly during the punishment. So far, that is.

As Elthin went through with the punishment. He saw that Lucine's tough act was dropped and she began to whimper. As he slapped her behind, again and again, making sure to rain down the punishment. From the heavens he made sure each blow would hurt Lucine just enough so that she would always remember this. And hoped that she would learn her lesson and not try this sort of thing again.

Upon each cheek, Elthin slapped it thirty times making 60 slaps in total but after the first 20. His blows were starting to lose some of their zeal. He wasn't enjoying hurting Lucine like he thought he would. Even with him knowing that she leaked upon him made him feel mad but then. Made him feel sorry for her. So he stopped just shy of the 60 slaps and pulled Lucine off his lap.

After the punishment was over, Lucine quickly tried to leave the room once more, ignoring the fact that one more punishment was still to happen.

Syl and Willow decided that the punishment was possibly enough for Lucine and that she was likely going to reflect on her actions, so they let her out of the room, resuming their duty afterwards should Coral attempt to flee justice.

Willow and Syl stopped Lucine from leaving the room. But then let her leave the room he just hoped that this punishment would teach Lucine a lesson. Soon it was Coral's turn for her punishment and Elthin asked Coral the same statement he had asked Lucine to do.

Unlike Lucine's false bravery, Coral was another story. She clung on to Freya tightly as she trembled upon Elthin's approach. She was also whimpering, but a bit more so than Lucine was. In addition, her eyes were also misting over with waiting tears. She looked far too shocked by the force Elthin had exacted onto Lucine to even begin to comply with the request.

Elthin saw as Coral clung onto Freya tightly as she was much too scared. To approach him and was whimpering more then Lucine had been doing. With tears in her eyes she wasn't able to go with his request. Knowing he had to punish her somehow Elthin did so gently he did what he did with Lucine on Coral. And as Coral lay across his lap and Elthin was about to spank her he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"I can't do it" Elthin said.

Elthin went through the motions of trying to start the punishment, but couldn't bring himself to do it.

"Coral's been bad, so Coral needs to be punished." Coral quietly informed Elthin, her voice quaking with tears. "It's not fair to Sis if Coral doesn't get punished."

Even when Coral pointed out that she still needed to be punished. Elthin still couldn't bring himself to do it at first he didn't want to harm Coral like he had with Lucine. With Lucine she got what she deserved but with Coral it was another story.

So finally Elthin went through with Coral's punishment at last. He spanked her bottom twenty times just hard enough so that she would learn her lesson. But not as hard as he spanked Lucine he was far more gentle with Coral's behind then Lucines.

The punishment went forward, but at a much more tame conclusion than it had been with Lucine. Elthin was sure to inflict just enough pain so Coral would be less inclined to disobey again, but not enough to cause lasting damage. The slaps still caused yelps and sniffles from the young dragon, but that was to be expected from a punishment after all. Upon the punishment ending, Coral seemed to have completely learned her lesson and apologised for putting herself in a dangerous situation like she did.

Once the punishments were over, there was a knock at the door...

Coral seemed to have learned her lesson but still yelped and cried out. As the spanks were delivered to her. Coral seemed to have learned her lesson and once the punishment was over Elthin made sure to have Coral promise that she wouldn't put herself in a dangerous situation like that again.

Soon there was a knock on the door and Elthin. Left Coral in the care of Freya and the kids and went to answer the door. Not knowing just who it could be Elthin before opening the door asked who it was.

"Who is it?" Elthin called from behind the door.

After the punishment was delivered, Elthin had an unexpected visitor. Leaving the children in the care of their 'Mother', Elthin went to check to see just who could be calling at this moment in time.

"Do you really need to answer that after you just legged it from a Crime Scene where an Inquisitor was?" Ellara rhetorically questioned. "Open the door, or I'm obligated to gain entry in any way I can."

Ellara was the one who was at the door. Elthin opened it up to let her in. "What is it that you want?" Elthin asked. After closing the door moments later.

Elthin opened the door and let Ellara into the house. She looked completely soaked through, with her hair still dripping from the torrential rain she'd called down. Miraculously, Elthin and the others were completely dry and hadn't the slightest damp patch on them.

"Do you always leave others to clean up your messes?" Ellara asked Elthin. "Where's the little Pyro? Has she calmed down some?"

Ellara looked to be completely drenched as she stepped inside before asking him a question. "I had my own problems to take care of. Plus you seemed fine on your own." Ellara then asked about if Lucine had calmed down. "She is off in her room I delivered my own form of punishment to her. So for now she has calmed down some."

"You can't just leave things to others because you're doing something else." Ellara retaliated. "You really, really need to start teaching her properly, otherwise I'll have no choice but to take her off you for the good of the people of this City."

Curious as she was, Coral decided to see who'd paid them a visit.

"Papa, who's this lady?" Coral questioned Elthin. "And why's she all wet? Did she try swimming in her clothes?"

Elthin listened to what Ellara had to say to him. "Don't you think I am trying to do that. Yet she doesn't listen to me." he tells her. Coral soon entered the room and asked who it was.

"This lady is a friend and her clothes are wet from. It raining on her".

"You seriously lack talent for teaching young ladies." Ellara countered. "Have you tried talking it out with her as to why she's so problematic? And I don't mean just asking once and raging off at her for getting a little defensive. It'll take serious time and dedication, with help from people her own age, to actually allow for her to progress in her learning."

Coral's arrival turned the topic from Lucine towards the young dragon. Ignoring the little Q&A Session between 'parent' and 'child' Ellara went over to examine Coral a little more closely, extending her hands to gently touch at where Coral's horns and wings were translucent. Coral, as would be expected, reacted to this in a rather unusual way. A dragon's appendages must be extremely sensitive if Coral's change from inquisitive to submissive was anything to go by. She looked to be more entranced by the gently rubbing of her horns and wings than she did at the current display playing out. If one was to hazard a guess, Dragonkin wings and horns were possibly erogenous zones in development on someone as young as Coral.

"Just as a thought, though, how's it even possible?" Ellara confirmed to herself.

"Don't you think I have tried that she just won't listen to me" Elthin pointed out. As Ellara spoke to him about Lucine. Soon enough the topic changed to about Coral and Elthin gently took hold of her. Arm pulling her away from Ellara. But she had already checked Coral out. He placed a defensive arm in front of her.

"I don't know what you're thinking. But you're not going to be taking her. Away from me or touching her again." Elthin warned.

Ellara dismissively answered Elthin's questions while she continued to unknowingly pleasure Coral.

"Knowing your track record with 'understanding' her, you probably just asked her once, she snapped back, and you raged off at her before leaving it at that, If that's your idea of a heart to heart talk, I'd hate to see your lectures."

Elthin pulled the small dragon away from Ellara's teasing hand.

"Who stuck their sword up your ass?" Ellara huffed as she folded her arms across her chest. "Do you seriously see me as some duty-bound emotionless automaton who tries to crush everything someone loves?"

"Then why don't you try speaking with her?" Elthin countered. Not wanting to have this talk with Ellara. "She is more of a pain in the ass. Right now at least but she does need a good talking to."

Ellara was upset he had taken Coral away. "Sometimes I see that what good have you done since coming here. And messing things up between Lucine and myself?"

"She's not my problem." Ellara shrugged. "You're fixed on keeping her, so she's your headache, not mine."

Elthin went to blame the family break-up on an innocent bystander.

"Then you've obviously never had any other interactions with people of my standing." Ellara answered. "If it was anyone but me, they'd have likely killed you first and took Lucine away without even giving you chance to plead your case. I'm actually the most humane of them all, or so the general populace of the Mainland says. I'm giving you the chance to prove that you're capable of raising a potential Adept, instead of just stealing all the innate potential this world has to offer. In addition, knowing that you now, somehow, miraculously have a natural born dragon clinging on to your arm, I'm not going to just remove her from you. She's clearly fond of staying with you, and all the records we have note that removing a dragon from their 'family' can lead to dire consequences, for both the humans and the dragon involved."

"She is part of your problem as you showing up. Was what started this whole mess!" Elthin countered. The topic then changed to something else.

Elthin listened to what was said.

"Then why not leave me in peace I don't care much for your kind. Always getting their way when they shouldn't you end up ruining peoples lives. And while you may be the most leveled headed and caring of the bunch whose to say. That couldn't all change?"

Elthin instructed Ellara to leave him in peace, claiming that she's done nothing but ruin lives.

"If that's what you want, then, good luck raising a dragon with absolutely no knowledge on how to. Hopefully, she's a vegetarian, otherwise you may find yourselves dragon food." Ellara replied. "Also, don't go thinking you can just pick up credible knowledge on Dragonkin in any old Library. Dragons are, after all, creatures of legend and fables."

Due to Coral holding on to Elthin, the usual vision tint returned. However, something was a little different. Normally, every person Elthin's seen through this vision has either a faint blue aura around them, or little orbs in their general vicinity. Ellara, on the other hand, had neither of those around her. She was almost completely lost to the tinting of vision, taking on a faint bluish hue, like Elthin was looking through coloured glass.

"I am still not sure on what to do with her. So far I am doing things well enough but I would rather not think about. That far ahead and worry more about the here and now."

"I already know of where I can go to get some answers to my questions. On Dragonkin but will need to find other ways"

Elthin saw that Ellara didn't have any of the blue orbs around her. Like Lucine had he found this very odd.

"You said you don't want my help, so I won't offer it." Ellara casually answered, dismissing Elthin's acclaimed knowledge on where to gain Dragonkin information. "Just a word of warning, though, Dragons are very picky, and get ill very easily if their needs are not met. Don't think she'll be willing to drink tap water, or eat what you may think she'll eat. Also, you clearly don't know how to dress a dragon, did you even ask her what her preferences were? She's evidently too hot in the clothes you've thrown on her."

Giving her final statement, Ellara left the house.

Elthin listened to what was said and then saw as Ellara left. He let go of Coral and followed after her.

"Please wait a moment. I may have said some harsh things. But I could use the help even though. I might not deserve it. I am just afraid of losing Coral and I don't know what to do. I just don't want to make the same mistake I made with Lucine happen again" Elthin confessed.

Elthin soon changed his mind and requested outside assistance to help raise the Mystical Creature he was 'gifted'. Ellara, as was expected, was 'ego boosted' by this change, and clearly showed enjoyment in the sudden change of attitude in a defiant client.

"I guess I could help you a little, considering you seem so inept at understanding how a girl thinks." Ellara answered, puffing her small chest out in pride. "I'm by no means a compendium of Dragon Knowledge, but I've done all the research I can into them back on the Mainland. First things first, you're going to need to give your friend in Argenta a call, as he's sure to be dying to see a Dragon in person. Plus, I'd suggest you go purify some water while you're waiting. Only perfectly clear glacier-standard water can be stomached by a Water Dragon as young as she is. She is a water dragon, isn't she?"

Ellara seemed to enjoy this sudden. Change in Elthin who clearly showed enjoyment.

She then told him what next to do. "I am sure he would enjoy it. That I am not sure about she might be one. As she seemed to feed on my water magic when. I was trying to hatch her." Elthin then decided to go ask Coral what type of dragon she was. Followed by contacting the duke and getting some water.

"I'm just making a wild guess, but she was completely unaffected by the Storm I created, which would suggest that she has some form of Water Affinity." Ellara answered,

Elthin asked Coral just what kind of Dragon she was. However, Coral didn't seem to understand the broad question, and simply responded by saying that she was a 'Dragon Dragon'. Due to the complicated process of needing to twice purify the water, Elthin couldn't make it up while trying to get into contact with Duke Trent. According to Ellara's instructions, the water will first need to be boiled, and then frozen as soon as it stops bubbling. Then, the water would need to be placed in an airtight container and kept in a freezer for a few hours in order to ensure that any impurity has been purged, either by boiling, freezing or a combination of the two.

The first thing Elthin did was to start. With the water by following Ellaras instructions on how to make it. Making sure to follow everything correctly. He also asked Coral what kinds of clothing she would want to wear.

Elthin followed the rigorous instructions for making Twice Purified water, ensuring to follow each step to the letter. It took a little while, but the water was soon ready for storing in the freezer. The water itself, aside from the frost lining the top and the sides of the container, was perfectly clear. Not a single discolouration remained in the substance.

Afterwards, Elthin tried to ask Coral what kind of clothes she liked. As before, her answer was not helpful in the slightest. She simply said that she liked 'cool clothes which weren't baggy or hot or hard to move in'.

The water was a lot harder to create then Elthin had know he did. Follow the directions as closely as possible and it took a little while, but the water was soon finished and ready to store in the freezer. Next Elthin checked to make sure everything was perfect before taking the water and placing it inside of the freezer. After that was done he asked Coral what kind of clothes she liked her answer wasn't very helpful.

'I take it you want something cool that you can easily move around in?"

"Yeah, Coral wants cool clothes that aren't baggy or hard to move in." Coral repeated.

"I know the perfect outfit for you then, little Aquatic girl." Ellara added in. She then turned to Elthin. "Go ask your Argentian friend to bring along a Uniform Shirt from his little girl's school, and also one of their Swimming kits. It's a little outrageous, so you may need to say it's for 'Dragon Research'. If it's as I think it is, it'll be perfect for this half-pint."

Coral repeated what clothes she wanted and Ellara knew the perfect outfit for her. "Okay I will let them know wait here." Elthin told her. He left the pair alone and headed towards the magical device that was the phone. He then started it up and let it work it's magic so that he could get into contact with the Duke.

Elthin took into mind what Ellara had suggested and went to contact the Duke. Like usual, the device patched straight through to a rather startled Zena.

"You always call at the worst times!" Zena opened the communication with. Her face was a healthy shade of red, and the backdrop looked to be the inside of a bathroom. "You're lucky this thing only picks up voice commands, and not other sounds!"

The device soon patched Elthin straight through to a rather startled Zena.

"It's nice to see you to dumpling" Elthin told her. He noticed that she was inside of the bathroom. "I'd like to speak with the Duke place it's rather important as he would want to hear what I have to tell him?"

Zena was having none of the ignoring of her current situation.

"Don't you have any decency in you?! You called a girl at her most vulnerable! I hope you're willing to take responsibility for any mental scarring I may get from this!" Zena retaliated.

Eventually, she relented to the request.

"I'll patch you through to him, but only to retain my dignity! No other reason!"

A few beeps were heard on Elthin's side of the device and, soon enough, Duke Trent appeared on the screen. However, he was looking away from the device and was working on some kind of stone-like project on a rather large workbench.

"I'm not about to argue with you that I don't care about." Elthin told her. Ignoring what she was doing and soon he was patched through to the Duke. When the patch went through he could see the duke's back was to him and that he appeared to be working on something.

"Excuse me Duke Trent I've got something that should really interest you it's about a Dragon?" Elthin told him.

At first, Duke Trent didn't appear to notice Elthin's attempts at communication. Like normal, he was far too engrossed in his work. However, at the mention of 'Dragon', the Duke practically sprinted over to the device.

"So you've actually seen a Dragon?!" Duke Trent excitedly questioned. "What're they like?! Are they as the books make them out to be?! Do you have anything from them on you?"

Duke Trent didn't hear him at first but when Elthin mentioned 'Dragon' he stopped what he was doing. He then went on to ask Elthin a bunch of questions in an excited tone.

"I've seen one well their egg for that matter, I ended up hatching one using my magic." Elthin told him at first, "As for what they are like well they seem just like you and me, but they are quite different this one believes that Freya and I are her parents. As for having anything of them on me I've got a little girl do you want to meet her?" Elthin asked.

Elthin reeled off what he'd found about Dragons and Duke Trent's excitement only mounted.

"You actually hatched a freakin' DRAGON?!" Duke Trent questioned in a mixture of disbelief and awe. "I'm coming over right now! Stay where you are and keep your dragon with you."

Duke Trent then rushed off to presumably find Zena. Faint communication was heard between the pair, but not much of it could be made clear aside from the fact that Duke Trent's excitement was not shared by a rather peeved sounding Zena.

Duke Trent only got more excited after he heard what Elthin had told him.

"Yes, I did hatch one though I believe it might have something to do with Lucine" Elthin told him. Before Duke Trent went rushing off to find Zena he then spoke to her and she didn't seem to want to return the excitement. Clearly Zena was still annoyed that Elthin had caught her in the bathroom.

Eventually, Duke Trent returned with a still red-faced Zena.

"Will I need to bring gifts for the Dragon? Is it malevolent or benign?" Duke Trent questioned.

"It's just a stupid Lizard, Big Bro, stop nerding out over it!" Zena cut in.

"Dragons are not just big lizards!" Duke Trent retaliated. "They are the most majestic of all creatures!"

Duke Trent returned with Zena.

"I'm not sure about bringing Coral any gifts you can if you want. But I'm more interested in finding out any sort of information you might have on Dragons." Elthin told him before Zena spoke up again. "Zena you need to cheer up as you can make a new friend." Elthin pointed out.

Elthin informed Duke Trent that gifts weren't necessary.

"Are you sure? I though each Dragon had a hoard of treasure." Duke Trent asked.

"You're in no place to talk." Zena countered.

"Some dragons do but I haven't seen this one with any yet. If she does have treasure I wouldn't know where it is" Zena spoke up again. "You're only mad about what happened earlier not my fault"

Elthin replied that he wasn't sure if Coral had a hoard of her own.

"Still, there must be something a Dragon would want. I want to make a good first impression." Duke Trent answered.

"Totally your fault." Zena dismissed Elthin's protest. "Anyway, that's done and done now! Stop bringing it up."

"Well some clothes could help do you have something in the line of clothes that are cool. But not baggy and hard to move in?" Elthin asked. He looked over at Zena, "it's your fault not mine at least I didn't catch you doing something worse like taking a shower"

Elthin requested some clothing in a rather roundabout way.

"That's not very specific, though I'll see what I can do,. What size is the Dragon? Would Zena's clothes fit?" Duke Trent answered.

Elthin's retort to Zena knocked her into a stunned silence for now as her face went a darker shade of red,

"Coral would be around the same size as Lucine and Zena's clothes. Might fit her we can try them out." Elthin said. He looked over to see that his comment to Zena was making her blush a deeper shade of red.

Elthin infomed Duke Trent of Coral's size, and also let her name slip. Hearing such a starightforward, if a little childish, name, took him by surprise.

"Coral doesn't really sound like a name a Dragon would have..." Duke Trent commented. "Anyway, the proof will be in the evidence. I'll go and grab some of Zena's old clothes before I head over."

"I'm not talking to you anymore!" Zena announced, breaking her silence. "You're nothing more than a dirty old man!"

"She might have another name or an even longer one I can't really say for sure." Duke Trent then spoke about getting some of Zena's old clothes before she spoke up again. "This has nothing to do about being dirty old men we are trying to help someone out. So, you can either try and be nice and help us in return or just remain quiet."

Before Duke Trent could answer Elthin, Zena spoke up.

"You know what I mean, potty peeker! This has nothing to do with the big stupid lizard!" Zena retorted.

"Zena, please, we're trying to discuss business here." Duke Trent chided the girl. "If you can't keep it on topic, then please go wait outside."

Zena quickly shut up and left the room in a huff.

"Sorry about that. Something seemed to have got her all riled up." Duke Trent apologised. "Anyway, I'm going to cut this here and get ready to come over. We'll be over in about half-hour,"

"Some other time perhaps" Elthin said not liking the way Zena spoke of Coral. Duke Trent then told her to go wait outside. "That's both mine and her own fault something I'd rather not speak about at this time." Elthin told him. As he learned they would be over in half an hour. "I will see you then." Elthin said before he let Duke Trent go. Next Elthin tried to get into contact with the Elder to let him know about these recent events.

Elthin and Duke Trent cut communications for now. Afterwards, Elthin tried to contact the Elder. Like usual with this form of communication, it took longer to patch through to the Elder than it did to Duke Trent. The secret behind Argenta's fast communication was still a mystery to most. Eventually, The Elder appeared in the device.

"Greetings, I trust you have some news for me?" The Elder asked. "In addition, I have a handful of questions for you as well."

Soon the Elder appeared on the device.

"I've got some interesting news for you." Elthin told him. He also learned that The Elder had a series of questions for him as well. "I will start off and tell you my news and then you can ask me your questions." Elthin waited for The Elder to agree.

Elthin proposed that he'd start by passing over his news and then let the Elder ask his questions,

"That's agreeable." The Elder nodded.

The Elder agreed to Elthin's terms.

"This is what has happened" Elthin started. He went on to tell the Elder about how a dragon had been born into the world. In his very own house he let him know that the dragon now thinks of both him and Freya as her parents and that. The dragon has some sort of odd power and sight that Elthin was able to see he couldn't really explain just what sort of power Coral had but. Elthin tried his best to explain things. He also let The Elder know about the problem in the Market Square today and how he and Lucine had been at odds during it before Ellara. Had come to fix things and how she was now at his home.

Elthin explained his case to the Elder, whom took in every detail which was passed to him.

"That ties in nicely with my own questions." The Elder answered once Elthin had finished explaining. "What I would like to know is if Lucine was involved with the incident in the Square earlier."

"In regards to your Dragon's power, I believe that to be her innate ability to materialise and consume the Sins of Mankind. According to our records, the blue aura normally represents the Sin of Wrath. You mentioned that she was conceived during an argument between yourself and the Animalia girl, correct?"

The Elder then began to ask his set of questions.

"Yes Lucine was involved with the incident in the Square. She tried to burn everything down and I tried to stop her. She seemed to be far more powerful then before and was clearly doing tricks that she shouldn't have been able to do at her level. She also knew about the limits us Mages place upon ourselves so that we don't let our powers run amuck and go out of control." The Elder then explained about Coral's power.

"Yes, she was" Elthin answered.

Elthin confirmed the Elder's fears.

"You have been teaching her control before Magic, have you not? That sounds very much like her magic was controlling her, rather than her keeping it in check. Magic is a living entity with a will of its own. If the wielder cannot control it, it will seek to consume them." The Elder answered. " In states of heightened emotion, a Magician's magic may be agitated by the emotions being displayed. With Magic like fire, it responds to anger, hatred and most emotions which are fuelled by primal ideals. In turn, Water responds to sadness and grief, Earth responds to excitement and tension and, finally, Wind responds to happiness and calmness."

"That would explain her power further. Once you link with a Dragon you are compatible with, you may pick up a portion of their power. In this instance, you gained the Dragon's Vision. That allowed you to see the world how the Dragon sees it. The orbs of Blue Energy were crystallised Wrath. They are condensed forms of events and situations in which the person they are linked to displayed the mentioned emotion, even if they did not mean to be doing so. Lore tells that once a Dragon consumes the crystallised Emotion, that event is bought into new perspective for the individuals involved in it. They may see it in a new light, or, perhaps, understand what the other person may have been feeling at that time."

"I've tried to teach her on how to control her Magic but have had very little time. To further our studies on that as many other things have been going on." Elthin answered. "But as you say I believe that Lucine's out of control Magic is due to her current emotions towards me and the others in her life at present."

The Elder explained about Coral's power.

"I believe something like that happened as The dragon did consume one of the blue orbs. That you spoke of this did let me get a better understand of something that recently happened. Between Lucine and me as I seemed to understand a part of her far better during a recent event. It was like I was able to understand a part of what she was going through and feeling at the same time."

"Before you teach her anything else, you must be certain that she can control the powers she has." The Elder repeated. "Make Control your priority lesson. Even if she comes to the Guild, she will have to known Control before she is even accepted here, for her own safety as well as all the other Students and Mentors present."

Elthin seemed to understand Coral's power a little better.

"Then the Records we have on that are correct, at least. You should know that raising a Dragon is no small feat. Depending on the type of Dragon she is, she may have radically different needs and requirements than anything you've ever seen before. You must learn as much about her as possible so you can provide just the things she needs. I do not believe you will have to worry about her turning feral, as she seems very attached to both yourself and the Animalia girl. However, know this, Dragons, especially hatchlings, cannot be left without at least one birth parent being with them. Dragons are creatures that make strong bonds with their family, so they may start to pine for a family member if they are not present."

Elthin listened to what was said.

"That is if she still wants me to teach her or even let's me. We're at odds with each other on just about everything. I'll try and see what I can do but it's going to take some time."

The Elder spoke once more.

"Honsetly, I don't even know what to do with a Dragon I'm not really ready for parenthood just yet. I am getting help from Ellara on how to take care of the Dragon." Elthin said before speaking again. "I do know that after I left her in Freya's care she came searching for me as I was busy handling Lucine. Could this be that she's formed a stronger bond with me over Freya so far?" Elthin asked.

"If she does not want you to teach her, you must find someone else to fulfil that role if you want her to attend the academy and not fall victim to her own powers again." The Elder cautioned

Elthin explained the incident with Coral's attachment.

"As I said before, young Dragons form strong bonds with their family. If either yourself, or anyone who the Dragon deems to be part of its family, goes missing, the Dragon will search for them. Dragons, like most Legendary creatures, prefer to be in groups. Only rare cases are loners."

"Who else would want to be the one to teach her?' Elthin asked. After he listened to what The Elder had to say to him.

The Elder spoke again about Dragons.

"Do you know of any other legendary creatures that roam the land of five continents?" Elthin asked.

"That will have to be something you discover on your own. There are plenty of Magicians out there willing to impart their knowledge, though, having a Student from one of the more misunderstood genders may be what prevents it." The Elder answered.

Elthin asked about other Legendary Creatures.

"We have a whole section dedicated to the Lore and Legends of the Five Continents in the Guild's Library. However, most of the information we have is just conjecture and personal belief, the true grounds of them have yet to tested." The Elder replied.

"PAPA!" Coral suddenly cut in as she came running up to Elthin and grabbing him by the waist. "Syl's being mean to me!"

The Elder told him it was something he'd have to find out on his own about.

"I guess this will take a lot of doing and working with. I should first try and ask her what she wants before seeing who needs to be done."

Elthin learned they had a whole section dedicated to the Lore and Legends of the Five Continents. He was about to ask more about that when Coral suddenly called out to him and grabbed his waist.

"Sorry, but I believe I'm needed elsewhere at the moment. So we will have to cut this short," Elthin told the elder. He then turned to Coral and spoke to her.

"What is it that Syl has done?" Elthin asked.

"Communication is paramount to any successful tutoring." The Elder agreed.

Before Elthin could go into the things he was looking for, Coral's interruption cut the conversation short.

"The joys of having a family." The Elder commented with a slight smile. "I wish you all the best with your family."

The communication was then cut off and Elthin decided to get the full story out of Coral.

"Syl's mad at me getting special treatment, like clean water and extra cuddles and she said that I'm just faking all of what I do and that I'm not a Dragon at all, I am a Dragon! Syl said she'll butt in when I go for cuddles and that I shouldn't be such a baby if I'm meant to be a Dragon. I'm not a baby!"

Coral wasn't really making much sense, but the gist of it was that Syl may be experiencing some jealousy issues as she's no longer the youngest member of Freya's little group.

The conversation with the Elder had ended and it was time to deal with family needs.

Elthin listened to what Coral had said and picked up that Syl might be jealous. Of all the attention that Coral was getting and might be feeling left out.

"It seems to me that Syl is jealous of all the attention you're getting" Elthin told her. He then took Coral's hand. "Let's go talk to her about it?" he started to lead the way out of the room.

Elthin now had to deal with jealous children.

"Why is she jealous? Is she just being that to be mean? Coral likes being cuddled and Coral doesn't want that to stop." Coral answered, still sounding a little annoyed at Syl's behaviour.

Elthin hoped things could be fixed between the pair.

"She's jealous because of all the cuddles and stuff you seem to be getting. She wishes it was her getting everything like how things used to be." Elthin pointed out. She took a moment and gave Coral a cuddle hugging her close to him wondering if this might calm her down a little.

Elthin decided to explain in easy terms why Syl may have said what she did.

"If she wants cuddles, then she should just ask for them. Mama likes giving Coral and Syl and Willow cuddles. Coral's sure that Mama wouldn't say no." Coral answered, still not quite processing the idea of 'Growing up'..

Elthin went on to hug Coral tightly, prompting a slight startled noise from the young Dragon, however, it soon turned into a contented purring-like noise as she snuggled close to Elthin. All her previous upset seemed to have dissipated in the connection between the two.

Elthin tried to explain things to the young dragon.

"She can do that but it's also nice to be given them without warning." Elthin then knew that sounded rather odd. But he was now hugging a purring dragon which reminded him much like a cat. After a short while he left go of her and they started walking again.

"Any cuddles are good, aren't they? Coral thinks so." Coral replied as she hug continued.

Soon enough, Elthin let the Dragon go, who seemed to want to be hugged some more and carried on to confront the other hug-monster.

Entering the living room once more, Elthin found Syl sulking in a corner while Willow admired her bug collection. Freya was not present in the room, and that could be why Syl decided to complain about hugs.

"They are always good." Elthin let her know.

They then entered the room and Elthin saw Syl sulking in a corner and Willow looking. At her bug collection Freya wasn't anywhere around. Deciding to try and make Syl happy he walked over to the sulking girl and swept her up into a hug of her own. "I take it that you're feeling rather upset?" Elthin asked.

Elthin decided to take the brash course of action to try and resolve the hug-jealousy. As was normal with Syl, the sudden action startled her, prompting a few yelps of shock as she tried to fight back against the force pressing against her, that was until she realised it was a hug.

"I'm not upset." Syl retorted with a pout. "I'm just trying to find bugs for Willow."

It was clear that she was just trying to hide the truth, considering a modern house like Elthin's never tended to have any form of insect life in them.

Syl started to fight back at first but stopped when she learned it was a hug.

"I know you are there is no need to be." Elthin whispered.

He kept up hugging Syl for a while longer and then let her go. "But I do believe you and Coral need to make up."

"I said I'm not upset." Syl repeated, even though it was clear she was, Syl's likely not known for being good at deception.

Elthin informed Syl that she needed to make up with Coral.

"Why should I do that?" Syl questioned. "That baby is the one who started this by getting all the special treatment!"

"It's not her fault, and she didn't start anything it would be your fault there. As you clearly are upset at everything she is getting. Would you like it if you were to still get the attention as well?" Elthin asked.

"I though that we were all loved equally, but that Baby's getting all the attention and we're being forgotten about. Even Lu's getting more people around her than we are!" Syl countered. "Why aren't we treated the same? Why do Lu and the baby have everyone waiting on their every order?"

"Lu is a special case and Coral is a different matter entirely." Elthin tried to point out. But Syl was right both her and Willow were being forgotten about while the others were. Getting all the attention she clearly was upset of this.

"You clearly want what they are getting don't you?" Elthin asked.

"But why are they 'Special Cases'? Does that mean you love them more than you love us? Is that what being a 'Special Case' means?!" Syl countered. " I though we were all meant to be treated equally, and not have someone loved more than another!"

Syl wanted to know the answers to special cases.

"It means that I don't love Coral more it just means. She gets more attention at present because. I need a lot of help in learning how to raise and care for her."

Elthin tried explaining things to Syl, but wasn't doing a very good job of putting it into understandable terms for a child.

"You said that you never had kids before, so wouldn't we all be 'Special Cases' then?" Syl countered. "You're just saying that 'cos you don't wanna say the truth!"

"Now, now, Syl, no need to take your anger out on Elthin." Freya interjected as she entered the room. "W"hat he's trying to say is that Coral's needs are a lot different from yours or Willow's, or even Lucine's. As I've told you a lot of times, every child is unique in their needs. Coral requires a special diet and can't have certain things without becoming ill. You, yourself, won't eat meat because you feel bad for the animal it came from. Willow can't have oranges or citrus fruits without getting a rash on her hands from the citrus oils. Lucine requires a little more attention due to her still learning about her new gifts. It's not that we don't love you all equally, it's more along the lines of that we seek to try and fulfil each person's unique needs."

Syl still didn't seem to get what Elthin meant and was clearly angry with him. "Whatis it that you want me to say?" Elthin countered. Not wanting to get into another argument with a child. Freya then spoke up and helped Syl to understand what he had been trying to tell her.

He just stood off to the side silent and really not saying much.

Elthin decided to leave the parenting to Freya at the present moment in time. Being new to this whole ordeal may require some additional research to be done on effective parenting methods of the troublesome duo of Freya's, and the equally problematic pair of his own. Knowledge like this cannot be gained easily from books, and may require talking to other who've been through this ordeal before.

After explaining things to Syl, Freya decided to also exact a minor warning for her in regards to upsetting Coral.

Elthin watched as how Freya handled Syl and tried to take mental notes. As he wasn't sure on just what to do. As he watched he knew that he'd have to talk with Freya at some point about this sort of thing. As he had no knowledge of what to do.

Learning from a more experienced person, Elthin found out that talking things through with the child on an even footing, was likely to get better results. Freya was getting down to Syl's level, keeping eye contact and explaining things clearly while also listening to Syl's opinion and working to a compromise. Even delivering the warning, Freya was keeping a calm tone of voice and adding a little authority to her statement as well.

Coral was at a loss of what to do and watched as Freya went about parenting.

Again he made sure to take mental notes as he watched the way. That Freya handled Syl by keeping eye contact with her and listening as Syl explained her. Opinion on things before the warning was given. He also took note of Freya's calm tone which was clearly something he didn't have. He looked over at Coral who was at a loss on what to do. He walked over to her and looked her in the eye.

"Do, you think you can understand how Syl feels?" Elthin asked.

Elthin tried to put his learning to the test on the only other minor present aside from Willow.

"Syl's still a meanie." Coral pouted. "Coral even said that Papa loves everyone equally, but Syl called Coral a liar."

Elthin took in what Coral had to say.

"Syl isn't a meanie." Elthin said. "She has a right to feel the way that she does. What if Syl was getting all the attention you and Lucine are would you feel mad. That we are spending more time with her then you?"

Elthin decided to turn the scenario on Coral.

"Coral knows Papa would never do that." Coral simply replied. "Papa's nice and loves all of us. Coral's certain that Papa would never put Syl over anyone else."

"But take a moment to try and think about how Syl feels. You've clearly been listening to what her and Momma have been talking about. While I know I wouldn't do something like that everI just want you to try and understand how Syl feels."

Coral's purity and innocence could be quite grating at times, as she still didn't grasp what Elthin was trying to put forward.

"Coral knows Syl's not happy, and that's why she's being a meanie. Mama has been talking to Syl about what Papa was trying to tell her. Papa's not good at explaining things, Coral thinks." Coral answered. "Coral doesn't know how it would feel, as Coral hasn't felt it. Coral doesn't want to feel it either. Papa's not going to make Coral sad, is he?"

Coral clearly still didnt understand.

"I'm not going to make you feel sad Coral, but you're right I'm not good at explaining things. Or really being a good parent either. I'm still really new at this and am not sure I'm doing a good job or not." Elthin confessed.

Elthin admitted his own lack of parenting skills.

"Papa will get better, Coral's positive!" Coral replied. "Papa just needs to keep trying."

A rather energetic knocking at the door disturbed the conversation between the people present.

Coral believed Elthin would get better at parenting. Elthin was about to say more when a knock was heard at the door. He knew who it was and went over to the door to let in Duke Trent and his little helper if she came along.

As Elthin had expected, the Guests were Duke Trent and Zena. Zena was in her usual 'Azure Princess Z' outfit, and was staying behind her Guardian, still looking a little annoyed at the fact she's been dragged away to look at a lizard, as she believes.

"Where's the Dragon?" Was the first thing Duke Trent asked when the door was opened. "I've got what you asked for, though I'm not sure what a Dragon would want with children's clothing. She might have a human form, but she's still a Dragon, isn't she?"

Duke Trent first asked where Coral was.

"She's right over there" Elthin pointed out. He looked over at Zena and went as far as to pick her up in a hug and spin her around. "So, glad to see you again" Elthin said before he let go of her and looked back at the Duke.

"She still is a dragon."

Elthin decided to engage in a rather questionable greeting for Zena, picking her up, hugging her and spinning her around. Of course, she didn't seem to pleased, but wasn't angry either.

"Do you always greet people like that?!" Zena retorted when she was finally put down.

Before Duke Trent could search for the 'elusive' dragon, she came to the door once more.

"Papa, who is it?" Coral questioned as she entered the hallway.

"I don't believe it..." Duke Trent commented quietly in awe. "A REAL LIVE DRAGON! Look at her horns and her wings!"

Duke Trent proceeded to do a similar action to what Ellara did when she first saw Coral; Except, Duke Trent's actions where more like a child looking over a new toy than the surgically precise examination Ellara did.

"Have you finally lost it, Big Bro?!" Zena questioned in shock. "That's a girl! She's not a lizard!"

"No I don't but get used to it." Elthin told Zena.

Coral then came over and asked who it was.

"This is Duke Trent and Zena they are friends of mine." Elthin told her. Before he did just what Ellara had done. Soon Zena then spoke up once again "I bet you're jealous."

Elthin introduced Coral to the two guests.

"What have you learned about her?" Duke Trent questioned Elthin. "Is she just like a normal little girl, or is she completely different?"

"Why would I be jealous of Big Bro looking at another girl? I'm not a Brocon!" Zena retorted.  
"Zena, I don't know where you learned that word, but you shouldn't be using it." Duke Trent warned Zena..

Duke Trent wished to know what Elthin had learned.

"I know that when I am holding onto her. I am able to see blue floating balls. Which she eats I believe those floating balls. Makes it easier for people to understand each other."

Zeta said she wasn't jealous.

"I believe you are."

Elthin tried to explain how Coral's power works, but, once again, it turned out to confuse rather than to enlighten. After all, it was something that had to be seen to be fully believed.

"That's a rather...vague explanation." Duke Trent replied "  
"Uncle Dukey...please stop rubbing Coral's wings." Coral requested between light panting.  
"Huh...?" Zena queried in confusion at Coral's chosen name for Duke Trent. The person himself also seemed a little taken aback by the chosen name.

Duke Trent stopped his gently rubbing of Coral's wings between his fingers and released the girl from her euphoria stun. The small dragon collapsed to her knees and started to catch her breath,

"Sorry about that. Your wings are just so silky. It feels like I'm running my fingers through water," Duke Trent apologised to the Dragon.

Elthin's explanation of Coral's powers only seemed to confuse them.

"It's rather hard to explain" Elthin told him.

Coral then spoke up and then Zena did as well.

"Did that hurt? Elthin asked over to Coral as he saw the girl drop to her knees. Trying to catch her breath after what had just happened to her.

Elthin asked if the wing-rubbing hurt the young Dragon.

"No...Coral's just...feeling a little...funny." Coral panted out. "Coral's body feels hot...and...Coral's legs felt weak..."

"Dragons really are complicated things." Duke Trent mused at Coral's admittance. "Still, good to know that I didn't hurt her."

Zena was the one who was even more confused due to this revelation. For the briefest of moments, Zena's eyes glowed with a pale blue luminescence, much like they did back in the video of the Council meeting.

"OhmyGod!" Zena suddenly exclaimed. "She's got wings, and horns?!"

Coral seemed to be doing okay for the most part. "That is very good to hear" Elthin agreed with Duke Trent. He then heard Zena speak and her eyes glowed blue like in the video. She then knew that Coral had wings and horns. "Of course she does she is a dragon".

"Took your time to notice that." Duke Trent answered Zena's outburst. "Thought it'd be pretty simple for you to see. Now, are you convinced that she's a Dragon, and that Dragons aren't just 'big lizards'?"

"Just what did you do to her, Big Bro? She looks completely out of it!" Zena questioned accusingly. "Did you touch her in weird places for 'discovery'?"

"Of course I didn't! I just gave her wings a little rub, that's all."

"It's gotten pretty noisy out here." Ellara commented as she entered the hallway. She noticed Duke Trent and his little companion. Not wanting to miss the chance, Ellara decided to mess with Elthin a little more. "So, we've got Emissaries from a neighbouring Duchy, and you don't even invite them in properly? Well, it'll be your head on the guillotine for treason, not mine."

"I wonder what Zena would be like as a big lizard?" Elthin joked for a rare moment. Then the pair starting talking about touching places badly. Elthin didn't bother to join in. Soon Ellara entered the room.

"They came in after I let the in. Though I bet you go blowing down peoples doors. When you try to enter someone's home." he looked over at her and stood beside her.

"Don't even go there!" Zena countered, sounding a mixture of angry and upset.

When the talk of 'Discovery touching' came around, Elthin finally managed to find his tact and politely kept himself out of the conversation. However, he'd lost this momentary moment of maturity when Ellara came in and messed with him

"Please, I'm a Lady! I'd never blow someone's doors of their hinges, not even the metaphorical doors for euphemisms. Though, having mine blown down might be quite the experience." Ellara retorted. "Aren't you going to offer them a seat? A Drink? A look through embarrassing picture albums?"

Elthin agreed to Zena's terms and didn't press the matter further. Ellara then spoke up once more about offering the others a seat or a drink.

"I'd rather look through your own embarrassing picture albums" Elthin countered. Before he turned back to the others.

"Would either of you like to seat down or have something to drink?" Elthin asked.

"Good luck with that, they're back on Mainland. Hope you can swim well, and are strong enough to swim for nearly two years." Ellara dismissed, unfaltering.

"If you have any Whiskey-" Duke Trent began before being cut off by Zena.

"Soft drinks, for both of us. Whatever you've got, unless you have fizzy drinks." Zena interrupted.

"Coral's thirsty..." Coral added in.

"Let's take this conversation to a more suitable location. Is your sitting room free?" Duke Trent asked. "You've held up your end of the bargain, and now it's time for me to keep up mine."

"I bet you want me to look at them just like Zena here wants me to see hers?"

Duke Trent and Zena and even Coral all wanted something to drink.

"I have soft drinks" Elthin told the pair and looked over to Coral. "What do you want to drink?" He asked before Duke Trent wished to move the conversation to the sitting room.

"It's currently being used as rooms for Freya and the kids. We can move to my office to discuss matters?" Elthin said.

"Don't drag me into your perverted conversations!" Zena retaliated, blushing a deep red.

"Seems like you fancy a Harem of your own. Don't you already have a wild love interest?" Ellara answered, deflecting the probing.

Elthin asked what Coral would like to drink. The Young Dragon possibly had no idea what she was asking for when she confidently answered with:

"Whiskey! Coral wants whiskey."

"Maybe when you're older, half pint." Duke Trent chuckled.

"You're a bad influence on impreshi-, impresho-, impreshen-." Zena cut in, struggling a little with the word she was trying to say.

"You mean 'impressionable', right?" Duke Trent finished for Zena.

"Yeah! That! You're a bad influence on those kind of people!" Zena concluded.

Upon hearing the news of the sitting room being used as lodgings, the offer of using the office was given.

"Wow, you move fast." Duke Trent joked. "Guess we'll have to use that, then."

Zena blushed a deep red and Elthin once more got what he wanted. "I do but right now I wouldn't say I have a love interest but things can change." Elthin said.

Coral wanted to have whiskey which caused Duke Trent to chuckle. "I don't think that would be wise Coral I have to agree with the Duke on this one."

Elthin then led everyone to the kitchen to get them their drinks. Where he gave the Duke and Zena soft drinks and not knowing what Coral wanted some ice water. He turned to look at Ellara who had followed along. "What about you what do you want to drink?"

"Even though you've shacked up with her, she's not considered a love interest? My, you certainly like holding the reins over another." Ellara replied.

"Why can't Coral have Whiskey?" Coral pouted, sounding like a child who'd just been denied sweets.

"Whiskey's an Adult's drink, and you're still a growing girl." Duke Trent explained. "When you're older, you can have more things."

Coral didn't seem satisfied with the answer, but simply huffed and continued to pout.

Drinks were served up, and Coral was given an ice cold water to drink. The fully filtered water may not be ready yet, but a single glass of partially filtered shouldn't cause much harm to a growing dragon.

"Either champagne or wine, whichever you've got more of." Ellara answered. "If not, then, I guess I can settle for some grape juice. Red grape, preferably."

"I just haven't thought of her that way, hey maybe you can be my love interest?" Elthin tried to change the subject.

"You can't because it's bad for you it would make you do funny things. Along with make you feel really bad the next day." Elthin pointed out to Coral who was still pouting, The drinks were then given out and Elthin gave Ellara some grape juice he had wine but didn't want to take it out due to childen being around.

They then moved up to the second floor of the manor and entered into Elthin's office.

"Not likely." Ellara answered dismissively. "You're not my type."

Elthin tried to explain the misuse of alcohol to Coral, but the warning was lost on the youngster.

When the group reached the office, Coral tried to sit on Elthin's lap, as there wasn't a chair next to him. Duke Trent and Zena, as expected, stayed together, and Ellara just leaned in a corner near the door, despite there being available chairs.

Once in his office Coral tried to sit on his lap as there was no chair near him. As he sat at his desk he let Coral sit on his lap while the others took their seats or stood in a corner.

"So, where shall we begin?" Elthin asked Duke Trent.

Coral's lap seat was soon met with a fruitful outcome as she happily snuggled up against Elthin, still pouting slightly from her denial of alcoholic refreshments.

"Firstly, I'd like to know more about the one on your lap, like how she came into this world and what caused her to be born. It doesn't seem like she had what we would call a 'natural birth.' " Duke Trent began.

Elthin let Coral snuggle up against him as he listened to what Duke Trent said.

"That's rather hard to say" Elthin said. He tried to remember what it was that had caused the egg of Coral to appear in the first place.

"I would agree that it wasn't a natural birth."

Elthin was at a loss for how to explain Coral's birth. Thankfully, Ellara was there to support this conversation.

"From what he told me, he said that Coral's egg appeared when he and his SO were having a little domestic. From my knowledge of Dragonkind, the little dragon known as Coral was born from the Sin of 'Wrath', which materialised in the argument between the two." Ellara explained. "Am I missing anything?"

"I believe that Ellara here nailed it with what she had just mentioned." Elthin said. As it was true he had been arguing with Freya at the time and then the egg appeared.

"Perhaps Lucine and Coral are connected in someway that we cannot explain?"

Ellara's explanation was to the point, confirmed by Elthin.

"Sins and Dragons being connected is something we haven't heard before." Duke Trent commented. "Argentian Lore indicates that Dragons are Demi-Gods sent to Earth to cleanse Humanity of their Sins. They're seen as fearsome tyrants, Dictators even, who always seek to gain the position of the most power in Human society so they can amass wealth and status."

"That dunce couldn't even command a baby to cry." Zena interjected, sounding unimpressed.

"Coral's not a dunce. dummy!" Coral shot back.

"I wouldn't call Coral fearsome just yet." Elthin said as he took in what was said. Coral and Zena then argued back and forth. "Zena leave Coral alone." He then patted Coral on the head and tried to cheer her up. "Coral is Coral yet Coral is special in certain kinds of ways just like you are Zena."

"Kids. So troublesome." Ellara sighed as Coral and Zena went about their argument.

"She doesn't quite fit the image we have for her in our history tomes." Duke Trent agreed. "However, she's still just a baby, so she might grow into it."

Coral and Zena engaged in a staring contest with one another upon being told to stop 'verbally' arguing.

"So, where does the other kid fit into this?" Duke Trent asked. "I can see she's not making herself known right now, and I'm starting to think that the lap-resident you have may be the reason behind that."

"I believe that Lucine is still sleeping at this point or maybe is up now." Elthin says. He wondered about her for a moment and looked back at the Duke.

"Maybe she just doesn't want to be around anyone right now due to all that's happened."

"I think you're a little too lax on her, letting her sleep in past noon." Duke Trent answered. "She'll get used to it if you do it too often, and that'll make it harder to get her up before midday."

"She's probably sulking from the spanking she got earlier, at least I think she got one." Ellara interjected. "If she was mine, I'd do more than give her a slap on the wrist after what she did."

There didn't appear to be much more information they could gather about Coral at the moment.

"Keep me updated on her growth. I'd love to study her myself, but she's your kid." Duke Trent requested. "Now, in exchange, you wanted some information about my little troublemaker, didn't you? What'd you like to know?"

"I am not lax with her just too much is going on right now." Elthin sighed. "I am not going to beat her if that is what you mean Ellara."

"I will keep u updated on anything else I find out. As for the troublemaker I would like to know her history what was her life like before she and I first met?"

"That's barbaric, even by my standards. I wouldn't do something as uncouth as that. I'd simply starve the stubbornness out of her. When she finally caves to her thirst and hunger, then she'll be a little more aware of the consequences of her actions. She's hardly going to waste away from being denied a single day's meal now, is she?" Ellara answered.

Elthin wanted to know about Zena's past.

"That's a rather...broad timescale." Duke Trent replied. "I'll start from the top: Before she met me, she was just a normal girl living in one of the outlying villages to Argenta, somewhere along the mountain pass leading into the main city. You'll probably know them as ruins now, considering what happened to you aware of the terrorist attack that happened about five years ago near the Argentian Military Blockade?"

"That won't do anything as I am sure she has gone. Without meals before I could try it i guess?" Elthin said.

He listened as the Duke told of Zenas past.

"Only very little I am afraid. I believe it had something to do with invasion?"

"Oh, yeah, forgot she was a Slummer." Ellara answered. "She's bound to have gone hungry for days on end before, so it probably won't work."

Elthin explained that he had little knowledge on the terrorist attack.

"It wasn't an invasion, it was more of a Suicide Bomber attack." Duke Trent replied.

Before going on any further with explaining things, Duke Trent wanted to ensure that the one in question was okay with it all. Zena had no complaints, a deal was a deal, but she didn't want to be present to hear it all again, so Ellara agreed to wait outside with her.

"You might want to take your little one out as well, if you don't want her hearing all the gory details." Duke Trent cautioned Elthin.

"Suicide Bomber?" Elthin asked.

Duke Trent wouldn't say anything else as Zena. Left the room since she didn't want to hear things again. "Coral I believe it best if you went and played with the others now". Elthin told her.

Elthin decided that it was in Coral's best interest to sit out the current discussion. She was reluctant to leave, but eventually relented and headed off downstairs to possibly spend time with her 'Mother', leaving Elthin and Duke Trent to discuss the attacks on Argenta.

"At the time of the attack, Argenta was expecting a delivery of some materials from Port Ralence. They were imported from the Mainland, but the freight ship that was transporting them had to stop over in Drakmar. It appeared that some Fanatics from the Church of Scales had infiltrated the vessel while it was resupplying on food and other commodities for the Sailors. They managed to avoid detection for the whole journey over to Port Ralence, and, upon arriving, posed as the carriers for the delivery. They got their trader's permits and headed off towards the Argentian Military Blockade.

"When they reached the blockade, they showed their permits and were waved through unopposed. Most of Argenta's Military was off trying to claim the Wilds to the west of the City. You probably know that Argenta is not just a City, it also offers passage over to the Wilds on the other side of the mountain it is situated on. Well, it does now, but it didn't used to.

"The Infiltrators declined an escort, insisting that they were able to fend for themselves and that Argenta's efforts were best focused on their current task. Not all traders passing through wanted escorts, so it wasn't uncommon for one to be declined. They carried on heading up the mountain pass until they reached the first village."

Coral had left the room and Duke Trent started up once more.

"I don't seem to understand why go through all this trouble. I know this is just the beginning of the tale." Elthin said he tried to picture in his mind a group of people doing things like this.

"Because they saw us, and still see us, as Heretics to their religion. Religious extremists will go to any lengths to get their points across, even if that means killing themselves to kill masses of innocent bystanders who happen to live in the same Province." Duke Trent explained.

"The freight we'd requested was highly combustible material used as fuel for our Vehicles. They were a mixture of Greater Fire Elemental Stones and various Alchemical Gasses used to spark the reaction. They were, of course, kept as far apart as possible in transport, even going as far as encasing the Gasses in Lead-lined crates to prevent the magic from the stones seeping in and sparking the reaction.

"Someone must've leaked information to the Church that we were expecting this delivery for them to have been able to hijack the transport and the delivery. Either way, I can only hope that that person went up in the blaze with the village.

"The Extremists parked their cargo in the middle of the village, where the market was currently taking place. Nearly the entirety of the village were there, even though their presence in that exact spot wasn't exactly needed for the carnage to happen. They recited the Mantras of their Church before forcibly shoving the two cargo boxes together, resulting in the contents spilling out and creating a explosion which could rival that of which happened in Gott during the Great War.

"The Tremors shook the whole mountainside, causing what little was left of the village to fall victim to a landslide, sealing the fate of everyone present. When the guards from the main City noticed the explosion, it was already too late. The entirety of the Royal Guard rushed over there, myself included, to try and rescue as many people as we could, though it was mostly a wasted effort."

Elthin listened as even more was explained to him.

"Were you able to find out who the person was who leaked the infomation?" Elthin asked. Wondering just who could have been the one to do so.

"We could never find out who'd leaked information, or even if it was leaked. That's why I hope that they went up with the Village. We have yet to have another tragedy like that, and I hope to whatever Deities are out there that we don't have to experience that again." Duke Trent answered before continuing with the recount.

"When we reached the village, the inferno was so powerful that we had to petition the aid of the Magicians from Brascus to quench the flames. Thankfully, we managed to search most of the village while they rushed over. As we thought, nobody survived the blast. After all, there was around a few hundred Greater Fire Elemental Stones, which house as much fire as a volcanic eruption, and several tonnes of flammable gasses and materials. We're still unsure as to how the whole mountain hadn't collapsed under that blast.

"When we were about to return to the city to mourn the losses of the village, I heard something which sounded like soft sobbing on the wind. I initially dismissed it, putting it down to a trick on the wind, but, as I moved closer to the source, the sound got a little louder. I couldn't have been hearing things. I rushed over to where I heard the noise, hefted piles of charred wood and debris from there, and found a small girl, barely holding on to life, impaled into the ground through her stomach with a sharp metal fence pole, believed to have come from the house she was buried under.

"Seeing just one life holding on after the carnage bought pain to me. This poor girl must have experienced her whole village burn to ash while being in agonising pain, seeing her life ebb away in a river of red pooling from her, witnessing the deaths of friends and family, being powerless to stop it from happening. I knew she was beyond saving, at least in this vessel.

"She pleaded for me to make the pain stop, to save her from whatever fate lied before her, begging me to do anything I could to keep her alive. I've been trained in Field Medicine, but she was beyond any form of triage. The only option I had was the Item I always carried on me. A Soul Battery, as I call it. It's what powers the personal guards of Agentian Royalty. You already know what they are, and how they are made. I offered this option to her, warning her of what it included, even going as far as claiming it to be a fate worse than death, but she just weakly smiled at me and said she'd go for anything to live for longer. So, with a heavy heart and tears misting up my eyes, I placed the Soul battery against her chest, and switched it on. Soon enough, the life further drained from her already pale face, and her body fell limp. The Soul Battery thrummed to life and lit up in its sickly blue colour."

After recounting this part, Zena had returned to the room.

"So, as you probably know, that girl I imprisoned was none other than Zena." Duke Trent concluded as he patted Zena on the shoulder. "She's now a Servitor, but not just any Servitor. She's the most powerful Servitor in the history of Argenta. She's the most cutting edge of all technology we have, capturing the passing of life to near perfect detail. She's a human in a metal shell. Maintaining all human traits, even down to the very mechanisms inside her. She's just like any normal girl."

"If you want, I can show you the rest. It's stored in my memory. All you'll need to do is touch my forehead and close your eyes. Don't try anything perverted, though, as I could easily beat you down to a pulp." Zena offered, sounding more serious than she had ever done before.

Elthin listened to all that was said. Taking it all in slowly making sure everything was alright. "So Zena is just a metal shell of her former self. Yet she still looks like you and me?" Elthin asked.

Zena returned to the room. "No thanks I would most likely see something inside that mind that would blind me for life. Anyway I wish not to see anything further that's your own stuff".

"She's far more than just a metal shell. She's the pinnacle of Magitech in all of the Five Continents." Duke Trent countered. "She's a near perfect humanoid Servitor. She can do everything we can, including the gathering and disposal of waste products in the form of filtered, purified water!"

"BIG BRO!" Zena cut in, blushing a deep crimson. "He doesn't need to know that!"

"But that's your best feature! It's an exact replica of the human digestive system, tweaked to near perfection!" Duke Trent insisted. "I spent months working on your finer details to give you the closest existence to real life."

Elthin's comment in regards to being shown Zena's memory banks turned her attention from her Surrogate Big Brother,

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Zena questioned Elthin.

"I didn't need to know that but its nice to know." Elthin gave Zena an evil grin then returned his face to normal. "Are there people out there who have tried to replicate what you've created?" Elthin asked.

Zena wished to know something.

"Am not telling."

"I doubt it. Most people see what I did as the epitome of heresy. I technically created another life by enslaving the soul of an existing one and trapping it in a metal body." Duke Trent answered. "That's not exactly the most 'Religious Friendly' way of making a Sentinel, or a Servitor for that matter. In addition, without the history Argenta has for replicating life in machinery, and researching the very working of the human body down to the smallest of cells, something like Zena will be impossible to replicate."

"It took Big Bro three months of working endlessly just to get the internal mechanisms right." Zena commented. "Not to mention how long it took him to produce this skin-like shell around the Sentinel base unit."

"Reproducing Skin cells with magic takes an extremely long time. I had to requisition the best Magicians from the Mainland just to get the shell made for the body." Duke Trent clarified. "Overall, it took nearly half a year just to get Zena's new body working and cosmetically complete."

"What of the Archmage surely he would be interested. In getting his hands in something like this?" Elthin asked. He looked over at Zena then back at the Duke. He then got up and started to walk around the room.

"She's far from Archeotech, so it's not something the Archmage has much interest in. Of course, her base design of a near perfect humanoid Servitor is Archeotech in nature, but the methods used to create her are as modern as we can get." Duke Trent explained. "According to history Tomes in Argenta, Fully Sentient Humanoid Servitors used to cover most military personnel in the time before the Great War."

Elthin listened to what was said and stopped his pacing. "But don't you ever worry about how someone might. Try to replicate your work or somehow make Zena into a weapon if they were to capture her?"

"If you think she hasn't the capability to be a weapon, then you've clearly not been listening to the fact that she's my Personal Bodyguard." Duke Trent answered. "Underestimate her at your own peril."

"I could easily kick your ass if I was asked to." Zena boasted. "However, I'm a good girl, and I won't go around beating up old men for my own enjoyment."

"It's true that someone could attempt to copy the blueprints, but there's only one set of them in existence, and their location is sealed with warding that only people I allow can pass through." Duke Trent explained. "If anyone else tried to force their way in, they'd trigger the ward and...well, let's just say it won't end well for them."

"Your so full of yourself" Elthin warned her. He had been listening to the Duke speak. "I believe you no need to go that far." He started walking around again. "Does she suffer from any weaknesses?"

Elthin asked if Zena suffered from any kind of weaknesses.

"That, I'm afraid, I can't tell you. After all, she is what's mostly standing between me and Death." Duke Trent answered. "If you knew her weaknesses, then you could easily overpower her and take me out as well. I'm not a fighter, I'm a diplomat"

"Safety first!" Zena cut in. "We're not telling you a single thing about that."

"That's too bad" Elthin said. As he could have used Zenas weakness against her if. She passed him off enough. "I have no reason to take you out at all. Why even think of such a thing?"

"When you're in my line of work, or position, more accurately, it pays to be a little paranoid of others." Duke Trent explained. "If I went around trusting people if I thought they were nice, then I'd likely end up dead, or in danger at least, more often than I would be safe. It's not just you, I'm a little wary of everyone's allegiances unless they've consistently shown otherwise. I only have a tenuous trust in The Elder, even, and he's not done anything overtly against me, but I can never be too sure. Brascus and Argenta were enemies before the Great War, and we only have an uneasy alliance at the moment under the Archmage's Banner. Don't get me wrong, he seems like a nice enough Person, but survival instincts kick in before comfort does."

Elthin listened to what was said.

"There are many enemies out there and trust. Is hard to come by it really must be earned." Elthin told him as he returned to his seat.

"Even in the work I do both here and at home is hard."

A mutual agreement for withholding information was wordlessly held between the trio present.

"Anyway, we seem to have gone slightly off topic. Is there anything else you wanted to know about Zena, or would you like to get back to your newest family member? She's likely a little lonely now if the other kids aren't playing with her." Duke Trent offered.

"I will ask again about Zena later. As I am sure as you pointed out Coral might be lonely." Elthin got up and headed towards the door he opened it. And waited for the others to join him outside.

Elthin decided to pay a visit to Coral before discussing business further. Duke Trent and Zena joined him outside of the meeting room.

"There're four little ones and only two adults, things are going to get pretty hectic. Even Zena can be a handful for me sometimes, and she's all on her own." Duke Trent commented.

"I'm not as bad as some kids in my class are. Some are so bad that they're made to live in the dorms rather than at home!" Zena retorted.

"Now we know that's not true. Some of those kids prefer the independence of living in the School Dorms over their own homes as it helps to set them up for later life." Duke Trent countered. "There're important life skills to be learned from living alone."

Parental conversations could carry on for quite a while, but a sudden startled shout from downstairs drew the group away from parental bonding.

"Put that dress back on right now young lady!" Ellara called after a troublesome minor. "It's indecent to be running around in just your underwear!"

"Don't wanna!" Coral shouted back, sounding very much like she was heading up the stairs right now. "It's all stuffy and heavy and not cute!"

And Coral was, indeed, charging up the stairs, wearing nothing but a pastel pink vest and panties combo with small red polka dots on them. It also looked like she'd tried to remove her underwear as well, as they were quite dishevelled and nearly falling off her as she was running up the stairs. Like she normally does, Coral soon dived onto Elthin and began to regale how 'badly treated' she was by the 'old lady'.

"Coral kept saying how stuffy those clothes were, but the mean old lady ordered Coral to keep them on! No matter how much Coral complained and tried to take them off, the old lady always put them back on Coral. Tell the mean old lady to stop being mean to Coral, Papa!"

Elthin and the others went back to the living room. Where Coral was running around in her underwear with Ellara trying to get Coral to redress herself. "I already see what you mean." Elthin sighed.

Coral soon jumped onto him and explained how things were.

"Coral it isn't nice to be running in your underwear. Or to be naked even in public. We must always wear a set of Clothes unless we are bathing. Please put the dress back on?" Elthin asked.

Elthin, not understanding just how to approach a stripping child, requested that Coral put the dress back on.

"NO! Coral said no, Papa, so no!" Coral pouted back, stubbornly refusing to even considering redressing herself. "That dress is too stuffy and heavy! Coral wants something better!"

"I had a feeling that you'd be experiencing clothing issues." Duke Trent commented. "You asked me to bring some clothes along, didn't you? Perhaps we should try them on her and see what she thinks."

"Oh, yeah! I left those in the kitchen. I'll go get them." Zena agreed before turning to Elthin. "You really are a perv. You've got a half-naked girl diving on you and refusing to put her clothes on. I feel like you're a bad example for young minds."

On that parting comment, Zena headed downstairs, narrowly avoiding Ellara, who came charging up the stairs brandishing Coral's discarded dress. Ellara tried once more to insist that Coral redresses herself, but nothing was getting through to the stubborn dragon at all. Thankfully, Zena quickly came back with a small bag and produced a folded up set of clothes from it when she reached the others.

"Perhaps she'll like this." Zena suggested as she unfolded the clothes.

The clothes they'd bought across appeared to be a one-piece navy blue swimsuit and a white and yellow sailor uniform shirt, with a big yellow bow in the middle of the collar. Coral's attention was soon turned to the clothing produced as she began to take off her underwear. Seeing the imminent strip, Duke Trent casually turned around and put his back to Coral before she'd managed to even grasp at her underwear. It was almost like the motion was done with practised ease.

With much struggling from Ellara to try and keep Coral in some semblance of decent attire, Coral was soon speed dressed in the outfit provided. It fit her nice and snug and still left growing room. It was a little weird to see someone dressed in nothing but a swimsuit and a shirt, but Coral seemed to be delighted with the clothing.

"It's nice and cool and cute and easy to move in." Coral appraised her outfit. "Coral thinks it's perfect!"

While the troublesome dragon may have finally been dressed, she didn't exactly pick up her discarded clothes, leaving the set of underwear she had on at her feet on the floor. Once the change was done, Duke Trent turned back around to see the dragon her in new clothing.

"Knew Zena couldn't have been much bigger than her." He commented. "That should do her for a couple of years, I'd think. Dragons don't grow very quickly, after all. At least that's what all the books say."

"Coral please put the dress back on. Unless you wish to be punished?" Elthin said he was about to do something when. Duke Trent spoke up again. "Yeah you did." Zena then also spoke up before leaving the room.

"At least I don't wet myself." Elthin countered back.

Soon they came back with some clothes and helped. Coral into them "I thank you for helping settle things down."

"It's fine. I know how hard it can be raising children." Duke Trent responded. "When Zena brings her friends around from school it gets twice as noisy as this place does."

"Hey! They're not that bad!" Zena countered. "Only Naru is noisy, and she's the biggest weirdo of my friends. B-But she's not a bad weirdo, she's just a little eccentric!"

"Isn't she that crazy collector for all things Makki? That's the name of that little pink half-human half cat figure, right?"

"While I would love to listen to your friendship circle, I think that little brat needs punishing." Ellara interjected in regards to Coral's behaviour. "She doesn't listen to her elders and she's also completely devoid of all human decency."

"Oh lets hear more about Zena's life" Elthin wanted to now know embarrassing moments he could use against her. If things took a turn for the worse.

Elthin listened to what Ellara had said. "Coral you really need to learn to behave" Elthin sighed.

"Let's not hear more about my life in the presence of this perv!" Zena swiftly retaliated.

"You should come to Argenta some time. We've got a few spare rooms at home you could populate for your stay. That is, if you don't mind helping out in some places. We might be friends, but nobody can stay for free. That's the basics of the world. Everybody's gotta pull their own weight." Duke Trent suggested. "Just let me know when you want to come over and I can put in a word with the Guild to let you portal to us. That'll save on travelling time."

Elthin attempted to act parental to Coral in response to Ellara's interjection.

"But Coral does behave. It's just the mean old lady saying Coral doesn't." Coral pouted "Coral's not done anything wrong."

Zena spoke up but Elthin ignored her request. He instead went over and pinched her bottom in return. "That sounds like a nice idea but let me get back to you. On when I am free due to i have lot of things going on at present. Plus I will help out anyway that I can" Elthin offered.

He listened as Coral spoke then looked at Ellara. Then back at Coral once more. "I have to agree with Ellara here and since she was the one who. You misbehaved to she can punish you."

Elthin politely declined the offer for now, saying that business came first.

"Whenever you get the time, you know how to get in touch with me." Duke Trent answered. "Bring everyone along with you, we've got the room to spare. I'm sure Freya and her little ones will enjoy the big city."

"I'll be sure to keep Naru posted on your behaviour, miscreant! She'll make sure you stay in line." Zena commented.

"Thought COG was very busy? They'll not likely have the time or manpower to keep watch of every outlander who comes in the city." Duke Trent interjected before elaborating on the acronym he used to Elthin. "COG stands for 'City Order Governors'. They're a civilian group of volunteers who're trained to keep watch of the city and apprehend any criminals until the City Guard turn up. Think of them like Vigilantes which are endorsed by the ruling bodies of Argenta to help out the city guard and take care of petty crimes so the actual City Guard can focus on the more dangerous ones."

Elthin then resumed his lecture to Coral, who just pouted and didn't seem to be listening. He offered up the chance for Ellara to punish Coral, as she was the one who was wronged by the young Dragonling.

"You better prepare yourself, kid." Ellara grinned at Coral, who soon looked a little scared by the idea of being punished by someone other than Elthin.

Ellara slowly approached Coral as the Dragonling just sat there trembling a little and staring at her impending punishment. When Ellara reached Coral, she slowly raised her right hand up to Coral's face, causing the Dragonling to flinch away, close her eyes and start whimpering. When the actual punishment came...

Ellara just gently flicked Coral's forehead, causing a yelp from the young girl.

"I'll let you off the hook this time as you're still a baby. You were just born a few hours ago, after all. I want you to learn proper manners before we meet again, otherwise you'll get a much harder flicking. Am I clear?" Ellara cautioned the young Dragon, who just nodded in response.

"I know I will keep in touch though" Elthin says. As he then watched what sort of punishment that. Ellara would do on Coral all she did was flick her forehead. "Now that all that is taken care of what next?" Elthin asked he went over and took Corals hand.

Elthin asked what to do next after Coral's punishment was dished out.

"Well, I think we can concluded business, unless you've got something else to discuss or trade." Duke Trent answered "Wouldn't want to take up too much of your time, after all. We're both busy people. Oh, one more thing. Just some advice from one parent to the next: Don't want to sound rude, but you're kind of forgetting about someone. Why not pay her a visit and talk to her for a while? Don't get too angry with her, no matter what she may do or say, she's had a difficult time, after all. Just hear her out and lay down a few rules as nicely as you possibly can. She might just want to vent a few frustrations and that's why she's acting up. Sometimes, listening is the best thing you can do with someone."

The was nothing else to speak about. Yet Duke Trent mentioned that he was forgetting a certain someone. And should go speak with them.

"You mean Lucine right?" Elthin sighed.

He had been forgetting about her as other things were on his mind. "I better go speak with her then. I believe this will take some time. Ellara can escort you back to your room for the night."

Elthin, realising that he'd been neglecting someone, decided to correct the wrong he'd done, but unwittingly commit another at the same time. Ellara looked extremely displeased by the supposed direction that she'd be escorting Duke Trent and Zena back to the Guild so they could return to Argenta.

"Quite a pair you have on you to assume that an Inquisitor of my rank will act as your personal Housekeeper." Ellara commented, fighting back anger while keeping an even tone. "You're lucky that I have business to discuss, so I'll do this of my own volition and not because you told me to."

"The words come but there's a broken link between thought and mouth." Duke Trent playfully jested.

"You'd best be on perfect behaviour when you come to Argenta. Naru will know of your deeds, and she'll make sure to keep the young of Argenta safe from your thieving clutches." Zena cautioned Elthin with an accusatory pointing gesture.

After goodbyes were said, Duke Trent and his little group left Elthin's home and headed back to the Guild, leaving Elthin with his current task.

Ellara seemed angry with his request.

"Well this is my request for all the trouble you've caused me. So you can do this one thing for me" Elthin stated.

He looked over at Zena.

"The same can be said for you. I don't want you going crazy when I visit." Elthin says he walks to her then whispers in her ear.

"Or show me yourself naked" he then waved goodbye to the others and headed to check on Lucine.

Elthin's parting comment to Zena silenced her and caused her face to take on a reddish hue. She tried to counter with a smart comment, but the words just didn't leave her mouth, she simply stammered for a second or two before taking off down the street as fast as she could. There was certain to be some drawback for such a brazen joke, but only time could tell.

Once the guests had been shown out of the house, Elthin went to check on the one he'd been avoiding for most of the day. There was no noise coming from her room. She might be asleep, or she may just be keeping quiet for her own reasons. After all, she hadn't shown herself since Elthin had punished her earlier.

Elthin watched as Zena ran off with a blush. On her face he had enough fun for now as he again waved goodbye. Before going back inside he went straight for the trouble makers room. He stood outside her door and knocked upon it.

"Its me may I come in?" Elthin asked.

He got no answer from her so he waited a short time before repeating what he just did.

Elthin attempted to draw Lucine out of her room by knocking on her door and waiting, even though there was not a single sound coming from the room in question. If she wasn't in the mood to talk, then she wouldn't likely put herself out to do so, so waiting around may just be wasted effort.

After getting no initial response, Elthin tried again. This time, a 'thud' came from the other side of the door, much like a pillow or some soft object was thrown at the door in response.

Elthin heard the sound if something. Thrown against the door which made a thud on impact. Not letting this chance pass up he announced. "I am coming in" Elthin let himself into the room. He stayed near the door.

"Your not going to be hiding in here. All day are you?" Elthin asked.

Elthin decided that, as he was getting no sense out of Lucine, he was free to let himself into her room. After all, she hadn't said otherwise. Lucine was lying on her bed facing the wall. She was likely huddled up against a pillow, possibly the one which was now discarded on the floor near the door. She hadn't changed out of her street clothes, so she'd probably been like this since she took off after her punishment. Upon entering, Elthin posed a rhetorical question which was, surprisingly, met with an answer.

"What does it matter? It's not like I'm wanted anywhere else." Lucine responded, sounding forlorn and very much unlike her normal self. "You've got your little 'Dragon' friend, and your bit on the side, so I'm nothing more than unwanted baggage, you said so yourself."

"If you weren't wanted then I wouldn't be here. Besides that don't you think its time to bury all that has. Happened between in the past I know things can't be undone. But at least we can move forward and try and set things right?" Elthin asked.

He could still see that she was dressed in the same clothes as before. "Anyway you're as much apart of this family as Coral and the others are"

Elthin attempted to console the sulking girl, but he wasn't getting very far.

"You're just saying that to try and make me feel better. It's not going to work. You've already said how easy your life would be without me, and you've even tried to get rid of me on several occasions. All nobles are the same. You just see us Slum Dwellers as lower than vermin."

"If I had truly thought that I wouldn't have taken you into my home when we first met. Would you have liked it if we had never met each other?" Elthin asked. He walked over to her and sat down on the other side of the bed beside her. "Or is there more to this then that?"

" I just want to be accepted somewhere for who I am, and not what 'powers' I may not even have. You only took me in so you could turn me into a tool for war, didn't you? That's what all Guild Members do." Lucine replied. "If I didn't carry any of these so called 'powers' you wouldn't have even given me a passing glance, let alone take me in. You just want me for what destruction I can cause."

"I took you in for other reasons and not just that. I didn't want to see you suffer and thought perhaps you could use a better life. One that could open up a whole new set of doors for you." Elthin informed her. She only thought he wanted to use her for nothing more than destruction.

"Then prove it. All you've done so far is pushed me to understand this...this 'thing' I have inside of me. You've not once asked me what I wanted to do instead of leafing through duty old books and trying to learn the basics of reading and writing. You're trying to turn me into a model Noble without thinking about what I want."

Lucine's retort wasn't one of anger, it was more one of sorrow. She possibly just wanted a normal life sometimes, one where she can just be a child and not a Magician.

"What is it that you want to do now how do you wish to go forward with your life?" Elthin asked. Thinking about what would be the best sort of way to get through to Lucine with what she would like to do.

"I want to see the world. I don't want to be a prisoner in this city any longer. I couldn't leave before as I never could've gotten enough stuff to keep me alive for a day outside of the city. I've been trapped in the Slums all my life, and I want change. I want to know about what goes on outside of city walls." Lucine answered.

Lucine wished to see the world outside.

"This might be some news you should find interesting." Elthin said. Before telling Lucine just what that news was. "How would you like to visit Duke Trents home he has invited me overthere when I have a free moment. if you'd like why not come along and see what the outside world has to offer?"

The idea of visiting Argenta seemed to perk Lucine up a bit. She was no longer lying on her side and was now beginning to push herself up into a sitting position.

"You mean we can go to Argenta?" Lucine questioned, not quite believing what she was hearing. "But they've not let travellers in for a while now."

"Yes, we can visit Argenta" this seemed to have caused Lucine to move.

"We just need to speak with the Duke and set up a time to visit. When would you wish to leave?" Elthin asked.

Elthin confirmed that a visit to Argenta was available.

"Like, **now!"** Lucine quickly shot back. "As soon as you can! Tomorrow, even, if today can't happen."

Lucine was now more like the child she was meant to be, bubbling over with excitement at the thought of visiting a new place.

Lucine wished to go now or even tomorrow.

"Let's speak with the Duke to see what we can do, it might not be able to happen today or tomorrow. As these things take time to set up but let's see what we can do?" Elthin said. Seeing as Lucine was filled with excitement.

The news of the trip potentially being delayed didn't do much to cheer Lucine up, however, her previous sadness was replaced with minor frustration.

"That's so annoying!" Lucine pouted. "I wanna go there right now! Can't you talk to him and get it set up? How hard can it be to say 'yes' to a trip where I could learn something?"

Lucine seemed annoyed that they couldn't go right then and there

"We can try talking with him right now if you'd like?" Elthin tells her he takes her hand. Gently pulling her along until they are out of her room. And walking towards the magical communications device. It was a short walk and they arrived Elthin turned on the device.

Elthin proposed the idea of trying to get in touch with Duke Trent there and then to try and arrange a visit to Argenta. Lucine had no objections, and didn't seem to react adversely to the sudden physical contact between the two in the form of hand holding. Soon enough, the pair reached the Communication Device and Elthin switched it on. The Device booted up in its relatively slow way and it prompted for an connection to be established.

"Papaaaaaaa!" Coral whined, her voice originating from a little ways down the hall from the pair. "Coral feels funny..."

Elthin waited for the device to make a connection. When he then heard Corals voice call out to him about how she felt funny. He was torn on what to do.

"What do you mean by funny?" Elthin answered wanting to know what it was. "If you need to use the bathroom you can ask Momma for help. As I am a little busy at the moment." Elthin hoped that was what the problem was.

Elthin asked what was wrong with Coral while the device began making an active link.

"Coral's tummy feels heavy, and Coral's legs are shaking. Coral can't move as fast as she could before, and every step hurts Coral's tummy." Coral vaguely explained. Her symptoms, while rather lacking in detail, did fit with an urge to relive oneself. Maybe her body knows what to do, yet her mind is still behind in practical education on matters of natural bodily functions.

Looking over Coral a bit, it was soon evident that she did, indeed, look to be in dire need to a toilet. Her legs were locked tightly together and one of her hands was latched against the crotch of her swimsuit. Her body was trembling ever so slightly with exertion of keeping the flood at bay. She was evidently straining to keep any leaks in, and still didn't appear to be any wiser as to what Elthin had said to her. Raising a Dragon, no, raising any child was difficult, and Elthin hadn't the experience with the earlier, more problematic, ages yet, as Lucine was already past them.

"You deal with the talking, I'll take care of the toddler over there." Lucine sighed, offering, for once, to help out her younger 'sibling'. "I can't allow you to lay your hands all over her body in this state as you 'attempt' to try and figure out what's wrong. When I come back I expect good news only, or I won't be very happy."

After volunteering herself to properly toilet train Coral, Lucine headed over to the troubled Dragon and carefully led her to the toilet.

Thankfully, a connection was now established on the Communication Device and it prompted for a recipient to be decided upon.

It turned out Elthin was right about what. Coral had wanted yet she didn't seem to be asking her mother for help. In fact it was Lucine. Who said she would take care of things. "Don't even start with that stuff again." Elthin sighed.

He wasn't in the mood for Lucine's attitude problems. But as she went off to do things. The device was soon connected and he turned to it.

"May I speak with Duke Trent please?"

Leaving the two girls to their own devices for now, Elthin requested to speak to Duke Trent. The Device began linking up a connection, and, like normal, it went through quickly. However, this time, it went to Duke Trent straight away, and wasn't diverted to Zena.

"I wasn't expecting a call so quickly after we just left. How did things go with your 'handful'? She stopped sulking yet?" Duke Trent answered.

Duke Trent picked up and was surprised. To see that Elthin had returned to call him sooner then. He thought he would have done.

"She has stopped doing that. Which is good but the reason I am calling is. I'd like to try and set a trip to your homeland. I told Lucine about it and she would like to tag along."

Elthin went straight to the point with the reason he called.

"No beating around the bush there." Duke Trent commented with a smile. "She really that eager to see the Rust bucket of a city Argenta is? It may take a little while to get things set up but, if you're really that fixed on getting her to come here, then I'd say get in touch with us again tomorrow afternoon. We should have things mostly presentable then, and you could even stay the night should you want to."

"I wish I was but Lucine has her heart set on seeing the place. Plus she wants to leave as soon as possible."

Duke Trent said they were free to come visit tomorrow if they wished.

"Then I will speak with you tomorrow. Perhaps in exchange to would care to visit my homeland sometime?"

Elthin agreed to the proposed arrival time from Duke Trent, and offered a chance of a visit in return.

"I'd like to, but I'm sadly a little too busy right now with everything to spend a lot of time away from Argenta. Quick visits like the one today are allowed, but anything longer than a couple of hours and things might get a little out of hand. You'll see what I mean when you come here."

Elthin listened.

"I can totally agree with that. I do need to return home as it has been too long since my last visit." Elthin sighed for a moment. Thinking about how he had been putting off his own return.

"We can discuss this at another time, but if you need help with anything let me know?"

Elthin expressed minor dissent for returning to his own Hometown.

"Sure. If I need anything, I'll give you a shout. Same goes for you, you know I'm just a call away if your two bundles of joy act up a little." Duke Trent answered. "Now, I'm going to have to cut this about now. We're about to go through the portal, and portal travel doesn't really go well with communications. Talk to you again."

When goodbyes were exchanged, the call was ended.

He took his mind off his own problems.

Duke Trent after saying his piece cut out. Leaving Elthin alone he left in search of Lucine and Coral having. A sort of feeling that they might be fighting again.

After closing the call with Duke Trent, Elthin went in search of the two girls who left a little earlier, expecting them to be fighting once more. However, strangely, they were not, for the most part, at least not right now, anyway.

Elthin found both Lucine and Coral outside of the toilet, with Lucine lecturing the young dragon about the whole ordeal she was forced to explain to her. Something so basic as a simple toilet training escaped Coral, but her body seemed to understand just what was needed, and when it was needed. Dragons were curious creatures.

"...that's it. You got it ?" Lucine finished. Elthin only managed to catch the last part of their talk.

"Coral already said Coral knows!" Coral countered, pouting more out of annoyance than anger.

"Then prove it to me! Go pee all by yourself next time." Lucine concluded. In her 'big sister' state, she hadn't caught on to Elthin arriving in the middle of their discussion.

When he found them Lucine appeared to be lecturing Coral.

"You should listen to your big sister Coral, she is only trying to help you out." Elthin says. He turned his gaze over to Lucine.

"There wasn't any trouble was there?"

Elthin decided to intrude on the talk between the girls.

"Yes, listen to your big sister." Lucine agreed with a nod. She still hadn't caught on to Elthin being there yet.

"Papa as well?" Coral mumbled to herself, understanding that Elthin was taking Lucine's side in this dispute.

Lucine finally noticed that Elthin was present when he addressed her directly. She looked a little surprised to see him so soon, but that passed.

"That blue bedwetter could've told us how to get those damn clothes off before she left." Lucine explained. "I had to feel around for some kind of zip, or something. I only got them down by accident when I pushed on the sides of her clothes."

"The little bits of metal stick together and hold up this part." Coral explained as she pulled on the crotch of her swimsuit, only to have Lucine quickly push it back in place.

"There's some kind of metal thing in the material which hold that part to the rest of it. When pushed on, they lose their stickiness and it just falls down." Lucine quickly clarified to prevent Coral's innocence from getting Elthin in trouble.

Elthin was only taking a side as he didn't want to see Coral end up having an accident. "I think I get the picture of what you just told me and I don't need to know anymore." he decided to try and change the topic.

"I've set things up and we can go see Duke Trent and Zena tomorrow. It can only be for a few hours though. But that should give you more then enough time to slowly start to see the outside world."

Elthin understood the gist of the walkthrough on Argentian Clothing and requested to not hear any more about it. He then changed the topic to one related to the origin of the clothing.

"You're not joking right?" Lucine asked, not quite beliving what she was hearing. Her eyes had the glow of childhood excitement in them. "If you are, I'll really make you pay." Her threat didn't really sound that convincing with how happy she sounded.

"Can Coral come, too?" Coral questioned, not quite showing the same excitement as Lucine was.

"Why would I be?" Elthin asked.

He could see the excitement in Lucine's eyes but it was could to see her happy again. He looked over at Coral. "Yes, you can come so can the others" Elthin told her.

On the confirmation, no words came from Lucine. All that came was something very unlike her at all. She dived onto Elthin and held him in a tight hug as excited laughter came from her. This had definitely changed her previous foul mood.

"Oh, Coral likes that." Coral answered with a smile, she then noticed Lucine had grabbed Elthin and refused to be outdone. She also dived on Elthin and held him in a tight hug, trying to push Lucine out of the way, but not quite succeeding.

Both girl's then dived onto him when the got the news hugging him tightly. Elthin hugged both girl's back and gave then pats of the head. Before letting both girl's go "I want you both to be on your best behavior while we are there understand?" Elthin told them.

Elthin relished in the attention from his two adorable daughters(?) and cautioned them to be on their best behaviour in Argenta. Lucine just gave two excited nods, her mouth not able to form words in her current hyper state.

"Coral will." Coral answered with a smile as Elthin patted her head.

"We should go tell the others the news and make plans for tomorrow." Elthin told them.

He soon headed towards where the others were.

Elthin decided that everyone needed to hear the news so he went in search of the three he'd neglected with his business meeting. Syl and Willow were still in the sitting room, entertaining themselves by leafing through some books which are likely impossible for them to understand. Whether they came from Elthin's library, or were salvaged from Freya's home was unclear. All that was known was that Syl was looking through a book titled 'An illustrated guide to the human anatomy'. Does that mean...? Oh no...

Elthin arrived at where Freya and the others were. Busy making the most of their time reading books.

"Enjoying those?" He asked.

After he had gotten their answer he told them his news.

"This might seem like short notice but. Would you three like to go on a trip tomorrow to Argenta?"

Freya wasn't with the other children at first, but she came in from the kitchen when Elthin started talking.

"What's a 'Repra...repre...repro...Reproductive Organ?" Syl questioned as she pointed towards something in the book she was reading. It was an illustration of the interior structure of the male anatomy, particularly around the genitalia. Not something a girl her age should really be reading, or asking about for that matter. "Why don't I have a penis? Am I not old enough for one yet?"

This wasn't going to be easy to explain...

Instead of answering, Willow just nodded in response. At least the book she was reading was about cooking recipes rather than the human body.

Eventually, Elthin managed to de-rail Syl's sexual curiosity with a proposition of a trip to Argenta.

"I haven't been there in a long time." Freya answered. "It'll be nice to see how the old City is doing."

"Will we get to see Zena?" Syl asked.

"Is Naru gonna be there?" Willow questioned.

Elthin saw as Freya walked into the room. Before Syl changed everything about speaking of not having a penis. He looked over to see the book she was reading. Saw the picture and quickly took the book. "That's something you shouldn't be reading or worrying about."

The topic changed for the better.

"Yes you can visit Zena but who is Naru? "

Elthin quickly removed the questionable material from the impressionable girl's hands. She didn't look too happy until Freya passed her a more child-friendly copy of a similar reference book. This seemed to keep her wrath at bay, at least for now.

Elthin asked who this 'Naru' was.

"You don't know Naru?!" Willow questioned, shock evident in her tone. "How can you not know Naru?! She's one of the best COG officers Argenta has to offer! She has a 90% success rate for criminal captures and she's only as old as Big Sis Zena!"

"Naru is one of Zena's friends who's a member of COG. I think the Duke explained that acronym to you?" Freya clarified. "Willow's very fond of her and always likes to hear about her exploits."

Elthin tried to think if he had heard Naru before but couldn't place it. He might of heard the Duke mention the name somewhere before. But might of forgot about it with all the stuff that had been going on lately.

"I can't really say honsetly, I think the Duke may of mentioned that to me before. But I might have forgotten about it."

Catching on to Elthin's lack of knowledge on the subject, Freya enlightened him once more.

" 'COG' stands for 'City Order Governors'. They're a group of civilians who volunteer to help the City Guard out by taking care of petty criminals and keeping the peace in the city. Despite being a volunteer group, they still have to undergo Officer Training up to the level of basic self-defence in at least three styles, all using different parts of the body should some parts become inoperable due to restraints or injuries. In short, they're basically City Watch."

"Oh, yeah" Elthin finally remembered.

He had remembered hearing about that group now. But his memory was still fuzzy in parts about the going ons of that group. "Some places have those types of groups" He walked over and took a seat besides Willow and Syl. "But why comman civilians don't they know what sort of danger they are getting into?"

"I take it you've not visited Argenta in recent years?" Freya answered. "The City Guard have been so busy defending the Border from the Western Wildlands that they just can't keep track of the internal plights of the city. Most of the time, COG Officers just detain the criminals until City Guard can get there. On rare occasions are they expected to make arrests, though that's fully within their power."

"Naru's a super awesome Wind Kinetic! She can warp around like 'whoosh!' and create gusts of wind like 'fwoosh!' to knock the bad guys on the floor!" Willow chimed in, sounding very much like a fangirl to a superhero. "When those don't work, she can warp behind the bad guys and deliver a swift kick of justice. Kapow!""

"Not recently I'm afriad."

"Sounds, like a tuff job but if they enjoy helping others that's a good sign." Elthin said. Taking everything in that was told of him. "I take it that you are a fan of Naru's from just listening to what you've described of her?"

Elthin took in the explanation and acted upon Willow's excitement.

"Naru's the BEST!" Willow gleefully answered. "I wanna be like her some day. But I'm not a Kinetic..."

"Willow really likes Naru for more than just what she's said. Naru treats her like a little sister, so she's extremely fond of her." Freya clarified.

"What about you Syl do you like Naru to?" Elthin asked.

He turned to face Willow and then Freya. "I will take your word on that"

"Naru's too noisy for me." Syl answered casually. "She might sound awesome from how Willow's describing her, but she's not quite as good as she makes out. Sure enough, her skills are true, but her personality could be a little less crazy."

"I have to agree there." Freya interjected. "She's a lovely girl, but a little too...random for most people. You'll have to meet her to understand what we mean."

"Naru sounds like a very nice yet, odd person in some ways. I am sure I will learn more when I meet her tomorrow." Elthin pointed out.

Elthin stated the obvious in regards to learning about Naru.

"Anyway, weren't you meant to be setting a room up for us?" Freya reminded Elthin. "I neglected to mention it earlier because we had guests, but it's getting close to the girls' bed time, and they'll not want to sleep on the floor for another night."

"I'll probably have the baby in my room. I don't think it'll be big enough for four, though." Lucine commented.

"Coral's not a baby." Coral retorted.

"I had forgotten about that" Elthin sighed. He got up again and mentioned for the others to follow after him. After walking a short distance they arrived at a room.

Opening the door he walked inside to see a nicely but cluttered room filled with boxes. "This room can but used once I start clearing the stuff out."

Elthin admitted that he forgot about the agreement they had, but soon began to correct his forgetfulness and lead the others towards their lodgings for the evening.

Arriving at a room, Elthin opened the door to reveal that it was cluttered with boxes, most likely because it served as a storage room.

"One person's not going to be able to do this that quickly." Freya noted. "I'll have the girls help you out while I get dinner underway. After all, we need to earn our keep here. 'Those who do not work shall not eat', as the saying goes."

"That will do it's only several boxes so the room will be free shortly for use." Elthin walked inside and looked around he picked up the first in a series of boxes. And brought it out of the room he wasn't sure on where to put it so he placed it down. Against the wall and went back inside to get another one.

"Lucine could also help out unless she wants to help you with dinner?"

Elthin proposed that Lucine help with either dinner or box moving.

"I've done my fair share of cooking before, but I don't know how to use all these fancy foods and things you Nobles like." Lucine answered. "I'd rather help with box moving."

"Coral can help, too?" Coral interjected. "Coral's never cooked before."

In response to the overwhelming vote that help is required, Syl, Willow and Lucine all gave a bit to help move the boxes from the room and get it set up to a liveable state.

"Coral can help cook if she wants to." Elthin came out of the room with another box. With the three others agreeing to help out, Elthin walked into the room with the others he had the little ones take the lighter smaller boxes. While he took the bigger heavier ones after several minutes the room was cleared out. To reveal a small writing desk, a bed for guests and a small nightstand it seemed this room at one time. Had been used for guests that was before Elthin had turned it into a storage room.

"Coral will do her best!" Coral answered cheerfully as she headed down to the kitchen. Learning new things seemed to be a good way of keeping the young Dragon in a good mood. Dragons, in most Lore, loved gaining new knowledge, so maybe that part wasn't just fiction.

With four people working on the room, it was soon transformed into a suitable living area. It looked very much like one would expect a guest room to, and it was possibly used as such before storage. The whole process still took the best part of an hour, and twilight was just surfacing outside the window.

The room had been cleared out in about an hours time. With twilight having arrived Elthin had worked up a sweat and was hungry. "Let's go check on how dinner is doing?" he left the room after making sure things were nice and clean.

"How can one person hoard so much junk?" Lucine questioned, tired out from the box moving. "You're a single male, it's not like you've got anyone to hoard for!"

"Wonder what's in the boxes?" Willow commented. "Perhaps some dirty books not suitable for children?"

"Burnable rubbish." Syl cut in, a menacing glint in her eyes. "If they are, then we'll have a big bonfire going tonight."

Conspiracies about the contents of the boxes aside, all four went down to check on how the food was doing. It wouldn't be long before it was ready. They had just enough time to clean themselves up before dinner.

"They're stuff from home that I just haven't had a chance to unpack yet." Elthin pointed out before the two others spoke up.

"Nothing of the sort is in those boxes and we are not burning anything."

As they headed for dinner it was time to clean themselves up. "You girls can all clean up together and no comparing chest sizes or if you're bare down there. "

Elthin, once more, failed to read the situation and blatantly suggested that the girls were going to engage in questionable activities in the bath. As would be the expected response from three minors in regards to a perverted statement from an adult directed at them., the trio huddled back away from Elthin, leaving Lucine in the front. All of them had deep crimson faces, from either rage or embarrassment.

"Like we'd do something so dirty!" Lucine countered. "Those two don't even know what puberty is!"

"Pervert!" Syl scolded Elthin.

Elthin could've picked some other way of wording it...

"We're going, and don't even think of peeking in on us, or listening in, or sniffing in, o-or anything! Just leave us until we say you can come even in eyesight of us!" Lucine finished as she swiftly ushered the younger two towards the bathroom.

That's going to take a little more than an apology to clear up.

"I have no need to peek at all as you three are too young for me." Elthin told the group. Lucine ushered the other two into the restroom. Leaving them along would be for the best. He walked away and headed towards the kitchen to see how Freya and Coral were doing.

After leaving the young trio to their own devices, Elthin decided to check on his newest child. There was quite a selection of food already prepared in the kitchen, enough for a full three course meal for everybody. Portion sizes were near perfection, and decorative display of the prepared food was restaurant standard. Coral was closely watching something boil in a saucepan while Freya was cutting fruit up for one of the desserts. As was expected of food preparation, both Coral and Freya had aprons on. Granted, Coral's was more like a tunic on the small Dragon, but she didn't seem to mind, and she had to stand on a stool to properly see the contents of the saucepan and reach the counter-tops.

The selection of prepared food ranged from soups for a starter, to a full balanced meal for the main course, and an equal partition of healthy and tasty desserts. Of course, there was a clear distinction between meat dishes and vegetable dishes, taking into account Syl's preference for non-meat dishes. Coral's tastes weren't exactly clear from the prepared food, but when it came to actual dinner time, perhaps they'll become more obvious.

As Elthin entered the kitchen the first. Thing he smelled was the various aromas of food that had been made. His mouth watered at the thought of tasting them. "I didn't think that all this would be made?" Elthin questioned as he went around looking at the food.

Elthin asked about the amount of food prepared for dinner.

"We are feeding five people and a young dragon, so I'm worried that even this might not be enough." Freya answered. "I'm used to cooking for three, and now we've doubled in number."

"Coral helped, too!" Coral chimed in. "Coral measured out all the food!"

"She's got quite the eye for perfect measurements, even without the aid of scales." Freya commented. "Anyway, you shouldn't be in the kitchen until you've cleaned up as well."

Freya and Coral had made a lot of the food. Seeing as now five people were eating instead of three which. Freya was used to doing 'Just something we have to get used to.' Elthin went over. He gave both girls pats on the head before leaving to go get cleaned up in his own bathroom.

Elthin concluded that the increase in numbers was just something everyone had to get used to. He then patted each girl on the head, Coral clearly enjoying it the most, and then headed off to get himself cleaned up.

Elthin entered into his own room and bathroom to get cleaned up. For dinner he hopped into the shower after taking off her clothes, Cleaning himself up the best that he could in the time he had and soon finished up a few minutes later. He got dressed once again and headed back towards the kitchen.

Elthin cleaned himself up in the time allowed and soon made his way back down to the kitchen. The trio of minors had also cleaned up in a short space of time as well. They must have finished just a little before Elthin had, as Lucine's hair was still rather sodden. Syl, at present, was combing it through in the sitting room.

"Good, you're back." Freya commented as Elthin made his way into the kitchen. "You can set the table. The girls have done their part to help out by getting drinks ready."

It was soon time to set the table and Elthin nodded his head. He went and in a short time got the plates, silverware, cups and napkins and went about. Setting them up around the table. He also had to get a couple more chairs. As there were more people now.

"Lets dig in"

Elthin did his part in food preparation by setting the table. He got a few glares from the trio of youths in the Sitting room, they were likely still mad at him from his previous insensitive statement, but they didn't verbalise their disapproval, at least not yet. Maybe they needed a little while to cool off before being addressed again?

Once the table was set, Coral and Freya started bringing the first course in. As was the case in most restaurants, the first course was Soup. Syl immediately chose her favourite of the soups and the others started to pick from the ones present. Seating arrangements around the table echoed Lucine, Syl and Willow's current approval of Elthin. They were seated on the opposite side of the table, as far away from Elthin as they could without being too far to engage in first pickings of food. This left Coral and Freya to fill the inevitable gap between them. Coral, like normal, was her usual bubbly self. It appeared that table etiquette was already programmed into a Dragon's knowledge banks at birth, as Coral knew the utensils and how to use them.

Seeing the youth's glaring at him from earlier. Did nothing to him so he ignored them and went about his own business. Seeing as they now sat away from him told him. They were still clearly upset another thing. He didn't care too much about with the food being brought in. Elthin watched as Coral appeared to know just how to use the utensils.

Ignoring the disapproval of the others, Elthin just allowed the meal to go forward without incident. The food prepared was actually really good. It wasn't quite 'Noble Restaurant' standard, but it was way better than what one would expect from a Dragon's first time at cooking. The presentation was delightful, and truly made the meal all the more better. The portion sizes were perfect to allow all the flavours of the food the come through without being overpowering or too weak to taste.

The food was great though he still. Got stares from the kids every now and then. He took his time enjoying every bite. Though he eventually sighed when he got the look again.

"If you have something to say come on and say it."

Elthin tried to ignore the occasional stares from the violated trio at the other end of the table, but eventually relented under the burning gaze and requested that they spoke instead of stared in silence. All three girls just huffed and turned away from him, evidently pouting as they did so.

"We're not talking to you!" Willow retorted, which was followed by an agreement from Syl.

"But, if you're not talking to Papa, then why did you talk to him now?" Coral queried, not quite understanding the childish 'not talking' venting.

"Because we're not talking to him, so we told him we're not talking to him." Willow elaborated paradoxically.

"But, if you're telling Papa you're not talking to him, aren't you still talking to him to tell him that, which means you're still talking to him when you shouldn't?"

"We're not talking to him!"

"But you did just talk to Papa. Coral's confused."

That explanation was going nowhere, so Freya had to cut in to prevent infinite looping the poor Dragon. She explained, as best as she could, the psychology behind what Willow had just attempted to explain, albeit very poorly. Freya's explanation was still hard to follow without knowledge in child psychology, but Coral seemed to understand the most part.

"So, Willow's saying that she's not talking to Papa, but she had to talk to Papa to say she's not talking to Papa, which meant she's still talking to Papa, but not in a way that she'd normally talk to Papa?" Coral attempted to process. It was clear the Dragonling was struggling a little with the whole concept, but giving it her all despite this. "This means that Willow, Big Sis and Syl are not talking to Papa, even though they just spoke to Papa to tell him this? Coral's still very confused."

Coral was confused as to why the girls. Weren't talking with him and Freya had to cut in to explain what it met. Elthin in the meantime at his meal in silence. But eventually stopped when the girls looked at him again.

"Can I eat in peace or would you three like to eat in another room?"

Elthin was starting to get annoyed at the supposed stares from the trio.

"We're not staring, we're trying to eat in peace as well." Lucine retorted. "It must be your guilty conscience."

Lucine wasn't lying in this regard. They hadn't stared at Elthin since before the paradoxical conversation of talking without talking. Perhaps he was being too paranoid, or maybe Lucine was correct in the guilt-trip? Whatever the case, Syl, Willow and Lucine were focused on their food as well.

Maybe it was just his imagination playing tricks on him. Or maybe it wasn't as Lucine said they were only focused on their food.

"I will leave it at that then."

He went back to eating his own food.

Despite the awkward interactions, the first course was soon finished and the Main were bought in. A variety of foods equating to a balanced meal in the right portions soon filled the table and the consumers began cherry-picking their favourites from the bunch and, even if it might not have been as balanced as the Chef had hoped, plates began to fill with personal meal choices. Of course, Lucine and Willow chose more meats than vegetables, that's if there were vegetables on their plates, and Syl was the complete opposite, no meat and all vegetables. Coral, on the other hand, was sampling everything on offer.

The first course of the meal was finished. Then the main was brought into the mix. Wondering what would be best Elthin took a bit of everything. Himself wanting to taste everything once before deciding what he liked best.

From this buffet of food, Coral's personal tastes were soon established. The Young Dragon seemed to like nearly everything available, save for a very select few options. Generally, Coral sampled and quickly avoided anything above the spice level of curried chicken. Water Dragons had very acute tastes, and spices were not something they enjoyed. Now, going by Elemental properties, perhaps spices would be more suited to Fire Dragons, that is assuming that the Dragons truly are making a comeback. Aside from the spicy foods, Coral was rather healthy in her meal selection, unlike a certain two who could do with some greens on their plates.

With each meal now sampled Elthin had enjoyed them all. The curried chicken was a little on the spicy side for his tastes. He ate a little more of the meats and placed some greens onto his plate. He started eating them and enjoyed the taste he kept an eye out on the others to seeing their reactions to the food.

Elthin decided to judge the reactions of the others in regards to the meal. As was expected, food is food to most people, and, with a buffet, people were near guaranteed to choose the foods they liked, so it was a pretty biased sample to be judging things on. There were no complaints, no food left over on plates and no deviations from the course of preferred options. All in all, it was a regular uneventful meal.

He pretty much liked everything that he had. Placed on his place soon he finished eating. He felt full and didn't have much time for desert if there was any.

"I think you girls should start packing for the trip tomorrow."

Elthin may not have wanted dessert, but the younger members present couldn't just pass up the option of dessert. Once they all had finished their main course, dessert was brought in. It was the typical ice cream/fruit salad variation of classic after dinner treats. Like before, Syl and Coral were the only ones who opted for the fruit part and not just the ice cream. Lucine took a few strawberry halves to decorate her ice cream with, but Willow was against any healthy option and simply stuck with the ice cream.

Elthin reminded the girls that they should start packing for their visit to Argenta the following afternoon.

"I'm sure Zena will have some spare clothes. It's not like we've got much to pack at all." Willow answered.

"Why do we need to pack things?" Coral questioned.

Coral wished to know why they needed to pack things.

"We pack things such as clothes and other belongings. Because we need them it wouldn't be wise to say go. Visit somewhere for a week wearing the same clothes everyday. As in time they'd start to smell."

Elthin explain the reasoning behind packing belongings before a trip, but neglected to take into account Coral's obliviousness to nearly everything outside of Dragon Culture and the basics of human functions.

"Isn't that what cleaning clothes are for?" Coral questioned.. "Besides, Papa never said anything about staying anywhere for longer than a day. Coral thought that Uncle Dukey said that we could stay for a day."

The ignorance of youth...

"We're girls. We like to be clean and smell nice." Lucine interjected. "However, living in the Slums has kind of removed that notion from my to-do list."

"But, if we're staying for a day, can't we wear the same clothes back and then get changed when we get home?" Coral countered.

The Dragon had a point. A heavily mislead point, but a point no less.

Some things were pointed out by both parties.

"But there is always the chance something can come up. That would maybe make our stay longer."

He wasn't sure what that could be.

Elthin attempted to back up his point again, but Coral's blissful ignorance won her over.

"Then, can't we just borrow clothes, or pick some up while we're there as a kind of useful take-home item?" Coral suggested. What she meant by 'take-home item' was likely Souvenir.

"Both of you have good points, but we won't know what happens until we get there." Freya concluded. "Being prepared is better than being caught unawares and having to improvise in solutions. While packing may be important, we only need to travel light. A spare set of clothes is likely all we're going to need."

"We can do something like that if we have time."

Freya soon joined in the conversation.

"As Freya has said traveling light would be for the best. So just a change of clothes will do."

Coral still wasn't fully convinced on the idea of packing clothes, but she didn't have anything else to say about it at the moment. Teaching a Dragonling human customs would be quite the ordeal, it seemed. Though, children do learn from their parents, so maybe Dragons were the same in that regard.

Dessert was quickly consumed by the younger quartet and the plates were cleaned up. Freya had to talk Syl and Willow into doing the washing up, saying that herself and Coral had made the food so they could at least help out some as well. Eventually, a compromise was reached when Lucine was also forced into helping pack away the washed-up dinnerware. They had a little production line going, with Syl doing the washing, Willow doing the drying and Lucine packing them away.

Elthin did his part of helping washing the dishes and silverware. Why after they were dried off gave them to Lucine. To pack up and put away after telling and showing her where they went.

After that was taken care of Elthin went to pack a change of clothes for the following day.

The clean up from dinner was completed, and Elthhin headed to pack some things for the trip to Argenta the following day. The girls went off to do their own thing as well, keeping preparing for the trip as an afterthought rather than focusing on getting things ready. They possibly didn't care about the prep, but rather wanted to jut get there as soon as possible. Evening turned to night, and, soon enough, preparations for turning in for the day were started.

The rest of the evening went by. Fairly quickly as everyone was doing their own thing Elthin had finished packing for the trip. And spent the rest of the time in his study. What he was doing in their was some research into Argenta wanting to brush up on his history. When the time came it was his turn to turn in for the night and soon fell asleep.

After finishing their nightly routine, the girls were so exhausted from the busy day they had that they fell straight to sleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow. They may have been eagerly looking forward to the packed day they'd have the following morning, but their bodies won over their minds. From a night of restful sleep came another bright morning.


	4. Book 1 A Curious Kinetic

**Book 1 - Chapter 3: A Curious Kinetic**

Despite how tired she was the evening before, Lucine was the first to awaken just as dawn was starting to part the clouds and surface above the quiet city of Brascus. Today was the day she'd finally get to leave this sleepy city and move on to see the world, even if it might just be a day trip to a neighbouring Duchy. She wouldn't miss this moment for anything.

Hastily undressing, believing that everyone else would still be asleep now, Lucine placed her shed clothes into the wash basket and headed, completely naked, into the Bathroom to take her morning bath. As she soaked in the warm waters, her mind began to wander and picture what fun things she may find and do in Argenta. What was the city like? Were all the houses made from stone? Did they have the strange things she'd seen in Elthin's house? Were there more of these confusing Magic-fuelled contraptions that not even Elthin knew about? So many questions...

Elthin was the first to wake up or so he thought. Not knowing Lucine was already up as he sat up in his mind. Slowly letting his eyes adjust to the morning light. Before getting out of bed and heading to the bathroom. To take care of his own needs. Having his own bathroom in his room helped matters.

After finishing up with a shower. He got dressed for the day. Then headed for the kitchen to make some beakfest.

While Lucine would have loved to stay and think about all the things she might do, she decided that she'd spent enough time soaking, as the heat of the water was starting to cool off. Washing herself down to finish off, Lucine then got out of the bath, dried herself down as much as she could, and then headed back into her room in slightly more clothing than she had when she left.

Lucine, once she'd dried off enough, got dressed and waited in her room to be called down for breakfast, when everybody else was awake enough for such a thing.

Busying himself with making breakfast alone was a simple task. Though he could wait for Lucine and the others to get up. Deciding to see if they were he headed first for Lucine's room. Arriving there he knocked upon her door.

"Lucine are you awake if so want to come down for breakfast?"

It didn't take too long before Lucine was hounded to come down and socialise. Answering to confirm that she got the message, Lucine decided to spend a little more time ensuring her appearance was as good as it could get before heading down a little while later. The other lazy children shuffled down soon after Lucine did.

Leaving Lucine alone Elthin went to go check on the others. To see if they were awake yet. They were coming to and he let them go themselves ready. As he went back down to make breakfast for the many mouths to feed.

Elthin went to inform the other family member, and the guests, about their wake-up meal before heading downstairs to finish the preparation.

When Lucine finally came down, her outfit stuck out the most. Unlike her usual 'throw whatever's clean on' dressing regime, she'd actually put a fair amount of effort into her appearance this day. Her usual wild hair was neatened up noticeably. It had been combed through thoroughly and held in place by a barrette, with her fringe being delicately combed across her forehead into a side sweep, which was maintained by a silver hairclip fashioned in the shape of a small desert sparrow in flight. Her chosen dress that day was a charming sandy yellow sleeveless knee-length dress, The waist of the dress was kept close fitting by a small burnished leather belt, bringing the drop of the dress up a small amount so it was a little above the knees. The outfit was completed by a complimentary pair of white mini-heeled sandals. Seeing her dressed in such a feminine way was definitely out of place, but strangely suited to her.

"I-I didn't dress like this for you, you know?" Lucine informed Elthin in her usual way, blushing a little at her current situation. If she just kept her mouth shut, she could easily pass as a nobleman's daughter, though it was highly hopeful that the vocal Lucine could be quiet for more than a few minutes at a time. "I just didn't want to look like a hick from a backwater city!"

The others came down and also noticed a change in Lucine's usual appearance, save for Coral, who was just as oblivious as she normally is.

"I wouldn't want you to have done that anyway." Elthin told Lucine. He already knew why she had dressed up he himself would dress up as well a little later. The others came down later to eat they noticed Lucine's appearance. "Just a reminder I want everyone on their best behaviour today?"

Elthin's complete lack of tact with the female gender shone through once more. His comment had sparked a rather angry glare from Lucine. Girls always play hard to get, so of course she'd pretend that he didn't factor at all into her choice of attire. She could've easily just dressed up as a boy and passed on the whole 'delicate bloom' appeal, but femininity won out in the end, and now there was an exceptionally feminine Lucine going to be accompanying Elthin on their Argentian Diplomacy visit.

Once everyone was gathered in the dining room, Elthin reminded the youths that they had to be on their best behaviour while acting as Brascus Emissaries to Argenta. A mixture of not so enthusiastic responses (and one REALLY enthusiastic one from Coral) showed that they got the message. And so, without further delay, the day began properly and time flew as Lucine went about her daily lessons with a little more zeal than she normally displayed. At around half past eleven that day, lessons were concluded as the group did their final preparations for their day trip to Argenta.

Ignoring the glare he got from his adopted daughter. Elthin and the others at their morning meal with the trio of children responding. To his reply of behaving good once the meal was finished. The rest of the morning flew by Elthin even noticed Lucine appeared to be more happier during her lessons. Most likely how she was excited to be visiting another place.

Soon the time came to get ready for the final perperations for the trip. Elthin decided now was the best time to contact Duke Trent letting him know they were on their way.

Walking over to the phone he powered up the device. Waiting for it to contact their friends.

After the breeze of a morning they had, Elthin completed the final preparation steps to reign in the much awaited day trip. Booting up the Communication Device, Elthin entered the code to connect to Duke Trent's Device and, eventually, got through to the Duke himself. They greeted one another before getting down to business.

"Everything's all set up here. I've also got an escort arranged for you when you arrive.. Well, more like she kinda talked me into letting her do it. Hope she doesn't cause you too much hassle. Looking forward to seeing you in person again so we can discuss your means of helping out. How good are you at teaching, by the way? Have you taught in the Brascus Guild before, or in any Guild?"

Everything had been taken care of. And as Elthin waited for the device to connect him to the Duke. He waited in silence and moments later. Was connected and both parties greeted each other.

Elthin was soon spoke to.

"Thank you for the escort I look forward to meeting with you as well. I have some experience in teaching I thought in my Guild back at home. And a little here at Brascus, who will I be teaching?"

Elthin explained that he had some teaching experience.

"You might have experience in teaching Magic, but how about regular schooling, like reading, writing, mathematics and Science? Oh, you'll probably call Science 'Alchemy', or something. You're teaching Lucine a little of that stuff, right, so you probably have some understanding of the curriculum? I'm thinking of having you act as a temporary teacher at the City's school while you stay, kind of like a guest tutor to give the students some lessons about stuff which regular Cityfolk don't normally learn." Duke Trent explained.

Elthin learned that he would be teaching. The basic stuff that was learned outside of teaching magic.

"I have a little understanding. Of all that stuff though Sicence might fall under Freya's experience. I can just ask her for a touch on the flight over." Elthin told him.

He thought over something at the moment.

"How goes work on your project?"

Elthin believed that Argentian Science was, effectively, Alchemy.

"It's not quite the Alchemy you're familiar with, and Freya's just as clueless about it as all Animalia are. This 'Science' is rather complicated to explain. Think of it like the ways of putting together an Airship, or creating one of the Magical Appliances you use every day, like your cleaning machines and cookers. This 'Science' is the creation of machines, and the ideology behind applying the elements to create the technological wonders of modern renditions of Archeotech creations." Duke Trent attempted to explain. "It truly is a marvellous thing to learn about and study. Just think of all the things we could make if we perfected it to the level of the Archeotech things unearthed from ruins! Nothing will be out of our grasp. We could revolutionise the world to the glory of the Old Days before the Great War."

It was clear that Duke Trent could talk about Science to no end if given the time, however, time was something neither person wanted to spend over a Communication Device when they were meeting in person a little later.

Elthin asked about the Project Duke Trent was working on.

"Give us a few more days, maybe just under a week, and it'll be ready to reveal. We're getting the last bits down right now. Remember, not a word of this to anyone else when you come here. This is a top secret project, after all."

Elthin was in the wrong in regards to Science.

"Then I must say I'm not very familiar in that sort of area. While I do understand what you are trying to explain to me it is sadly one of the things I don't really know much about." Elthin explained. He wasn't really good in the whole Science department." However when Duke Trent mentioned the name 'Ruins' Elthin got a sort of sadness in his eye from one who had not been out taken up his favorite past time in quite a long while. "That reminds me of something I need to do once more."

The Duke then told how the project was coming along.

"Don't worry I haven't told anyone but I would like to be there to witness the unveiling of it?" Elthin asked.

While Duke Trent had been kind enough to offer Elthin and friends a chance to visit. His land Elthin thought about returning the favor he might have asked Duke Trent in the past. About it but couldn't remember if he had or not.

"I am not sure if I had asked you this or not before but how would you like. To visit my homeland of Artaria I'm sure you would find it rather enjoyable. Especially Ezodora, Klokirq Forest and the ruins of Felh Anore. Where it was that I found my sword and the creation behind the blade itself which some said was created by an 'ice phoenix'.

Now it was Elthin's turn as he could go on talking about his homeland all day. But seeing as how they were both pressed for time had to cut things short.

"I would like to talk to you about this in more detail later if that is okay?"

Elthin admitted his lack of expertise in Argentian Science, and, through body language, expressed his want to take up Ruin Exploring once more.

"It's not a problem. Not a lot of people outside of the Mainland or Argenta are able to fully comprehend the marvels of modern technological advancement. We've been with Magic for so long that it's kind of replaced the more archaic forms of development." Duke Trent answered. "Apparently, according to some documents recovered from an Old Temple, people before the time of the Great War saw magic as a form of divine miracle gifted to individuals from the Prime Gods. It's amazing how one time's Miracles can become another time's everyday life! It seems like the whole World has been flipped on its head, as Magic is now Commonplace, and Old Technology is near unheard of."

Elthin wanted to be at the unveiling of the Grand Project.

"I wouldn't want to start it without you, or your current family, anyway. I'll make sure to drop you a line when we've got a guaranteed date for completion. You could even stay around for the after party if you've got time. It's going to be one of the biggest events Argenta has seen in years!"

Elthin then proposed an offer of Duke Trent visiting his home country.

"I'd love to come along, but things are a little hectic here at the moment, what with the project and all that. Plus, I've yet to put together a group of trusted delegates I could leave Argenta's upkeep to while I went on this little Diplomatic Excursion. I say Diplomacy, but your talk of ruins has got me interested in a little more than PR'ing Argenta." Duke Trent replied. Elthin then pointed out that this probably wasn't the best means of interaction to go through long discussion with. "Sure thing! When you get here, I've got a lot of things to go through with you as well. They're not all business related, of course and, perhaps, if your little ones behave themselves well enough when their over here, I may be able to provide a means of you getting your exploring on with ruins once more, though you'd have to share some of the knowledge findings with me as well if we go through with it."

"Well everyone in history their own thoughts as where they believed magic. Came from some can say it was from the Prime Gods or even that the Fey or Elfs had a role in it." Elthin pointed out, As he listened to the rest of what Duke Trent had to say.

The Duke mentioned about his project.

"I will make sure to keep a line open for you when the time comes. Get things all ready, I would also need to see if I've got time as well so, let's leave that open about the party for right now.

Duke Trent thought about his offer.

"I totally understand that it often takes time to set up. Things that can be handled with care as you'd need to find trust worthy people who can run things while you're away." The Duke did seem interested in wanting to see the ruins that Elthin had spoken of. "Then I look forward to talking with you again and I do hope that the little ones will indeed be behaving themselves. As I wouldn't want to cause any problems while we are there." Elthin said.

While he could go on talking for a while longer he wished not to. As both parties were sure to have things they still needed to do.

"I hate to cut this short but I now need to get everything ready and book us passage, I look forward to seeing you again and discussing future indevers." Elthin said before he bid farewell to Duke Trent.

Elthin listed alternative historical explanations for the origins of Magic and what may have led to its sudden surge in presence at the expense of the decline of technology.

"That's the problem with History. We've only got our Ancestor's hearsay to go off of as we weren't there." Duke Trent agreed. "Elves are a new one for me. All I've seen on them is that they're an incredibly secluded race which rarely interacts with others. We don't even know if they're still around now or not, considering they tend to keep as far away from Humanity as they can."

Home visit and project discussions were drawn to a close by both sides, leaving the overarching influencing factor being availability to attend such events. Elthin also expressed his desire for the younger visitors being on their best behaviour. Eventually, the communication had to be cut to a close due to preparations being of top importance.

"Yeah, I'll see you in a few. Safe passage!" Duke Trent bid goodbye to Elthin before the communication was terminated.

"Well in one of my travels I discovered that a race of Snow Elves. Were able to use magic and were master craftsman." Elthin pointed out. "There is a settlement a days travel from my hometown though its ruins now."

Everything was coming to a close. And Elthin then bid Duke Trent farewell. Before leaving and powering down the communications device. He next left to go see the others to see if they were all done getting ready.

Elthin finished his conversation with Duke Trent and then went to check on the others to see if they were ready to begin departure. Lucine had been ready since that morning, and Coral was nearing full completion, considering she only like one set of clothes. Syl and Willow didn't have much else to change in to, so they borrowed some of Lucine's smaller dresses. Freya was comfortable in her panther-skin wraps, so she opted out of dressing up.

"Should we go pee before we set off?" Coral brazenly asked Elthin, completely throwing aside all delicacy expected from girls in that regard.

Everyone appeared ready to go when Elthin arrived to check up on them. Which was a few minutes later as he dressed him in a set of causal clothes for this outing. Coral soon asked if they should all go pee before they left. This took Elthin a little by surprise as he wasn't expecting something like that to be said.

"Yes, all of you little ones should go take care of that."

As expected, not all of the present youths shared the courage of Coral. Syl was even blushing a deep red when Elthin confirmed that they should, indeed, take care of that kind of thing before any trip.

"'Kay! Coral will go first!" Coral confirmed in her usual chirpy way before heading off towards the toilet, with Lucine quickly hurrying on behind to make sure that Coral had been properly trained in the ways of human toilet etiquette. Soon enough, from Lucine's startled statements, Coral had not quite fully grasped the concept.

"You're meant to shut the door before you pull your panties down!" Lucine's muffled, yet still coherent, lecture sounded from the direction of the toilet.

"But why?" Coral questioned innocently.

"Haven't you heard of privacy?!"

"What's 'Privacy'? Is it tasty?"

Coral was a quick learner, but she still had leaps and bounds to go before she was on par with the other girls.

Coral appeared to need a lot more help in the terms of learning proper manners. When going to the restroom after leaving the door open. "You should always make sure to close the door when doing that sort of thing Coral." Elthin pointed out.

He waited for the others.

Intruding on Coral's privacy with a untoward comment garnered stares from the remaining younger girls. Maybe it would've been more socially acceptable to Syl and Willow if Elthin waited for Coral to finish before commenting on her toilet mannerisms.

Coral quickly finished up and was sure to go through the rest of the process without direction. It seemed only the 'privacy' part escaped her at the moment.

"All done, Papa!" Coral informed Elthin. "And was Big Sis right, or was she just picking on Coral again?"

The rest of the girls went through their private times and, soon enough, the whole group was ready to set off for Argenta.

"Big Sis is right she wasn't picking on you."

He saw the stares from Syl and Willow but said nothing. When they were taking care of their needs. Elthin went and took his sword from where he kept it. Wishing to bring it along to show Duke Trent later. Soon it was time to leave for Argenta and with their stuff gathered. Elthin's little harem group headed off towards the Brascus Guild where the portal for magical travel was kept.

"Hmmmm, Coral will have to think on that one." Coral answered, dismissing the apparent need for privacy. Perhaps, in their natural habitat, Dragons didn't really care much who saw them doing the deeds, considering they were creatures at their core, despite how intellectual and powerful they were.

Elthin gathered his sword and took his little Harem off towards the Brascus Guild, where the Portal Stone for transit was kept. Elthin's knowledge of Magical Artifacts deduced to him that a Portal stone was a large Runed circular Gateway with a crystal-sized opening at the top of it where the powering Keystone resided. Every Magical City in the world had a different Rune representing it to allow for quick portal keying. All the Portal Master had to do was recite the schematic gestures to call upon the latent magics in the Guild to power the portal.

Arriving at the Brascus Guild, Elthin remembered that he had to check in with the Reception desk to be allowed into the Portal Room.

Arriving at the Brascus Guild, Elthin was reminded that he first needed to. Check in with the Reception desk to be allowed access to the Portal Room. He was also reminded that every Magical City held a different Rune. Allowing for quick travel between vast distances as the group arrived at the Reception Desk. Elthin was the one to speak to the person on duty there at the time.

"I'm Elthin Veldhar and my family and I would like access to the Portal Room please. For we have booked passage to Argenta."

When Elthin explained his request to the receptionist, they checked the records on their desk. After a few moments, they deemed everything to be in order and escorted Elthin and his group over to the Portal Room. Upon arriving at their destination, the receptionist split off from the group and deactivated the wards around the Portal Room's door before unlocking it.

From Elthin's knowledge, all Portal Rooms have protective wards on the outside of them to prevent any unwanted forced entry. Only the Portal Master of the Guild can bypass these wards, as they were the one who set them up. However, coming from inside of the Portal Room to the outside, there was no need for protective wards, as the person passing through must have been cleared before using the room making the need for interior wards redundant and a waste of resources.

Once the door was de-warded and unlocked, the receptionist allowed Elthin's group in and then locked the door behind them and reactivated the exterior wards. The door could be opened from the inside without a key, as the lock was an interior one which reset upon exiting the room.

Each portal room spread throughout the World looked very similar to its counterparts, as they were all said to have been made shortly after the Great War, when Magic was at its pinnacle in strength. Portal rooms were circular dome-shaped spaces with numerous runestones dotted into the make-up of the walls at specific points to allow the maximum flow of Ley energy to be uninhibited, as Portals take a great deal of Magic to open, and to route said Leylines towards the large Keystone in the middle of the archway. The Portal Arch itself rested on a raised three-tier platform inscribed with runes, at the very pinnacle of the platform. This Portal Arch was made from Sandstone, which was inscribed with the rune for Brascus at even intervals across the arch leading up to the Keystone. At the moment, the Portal Arch was dormant and unpowered.

Lucine and Coral were amazed at the scale of the room and looked more eager to explore it rather than take a portal.

Elthin and company after getting everything taken care of with the receptionist. Were allowed access to the Portal Room but first it needed to be de-wared for them to be allowed to enter which was done shortly after. The group soon entered into the vast room once inside Elthin could feel the dormant power coming from within the room. He looked around the room and could see that Lucine and Coral were eager to explore the rest of the room.

"Stay close and don't go wandering off." Elthin told the two.

He looked over at the Portal Arch which was dormant at the time.

"Maybe in the near future I should visit home again." Elthin said to himself he was feeling a little homesick.

Elthin requested for the inquisitive pair to stay close and not wander off. Though they seemed unwilling to do so, they still begrudgingly obliged, as they didn't want to jeopardise their day out in any way. Elthin and his group approached the Portal Arch and the Portal Master began to prepare the somatic segment of the portal opening incantation.

After all the preparations were complete, the Portal Master activated the last Portal Rune near the Keystone and the portal thrummed to life, revealing another, very similar portal room, but with a very different Rune arrangement resting around the Arch. It looked like they were looking at a rippling reflection through water of their current location had it not been for the subtle differences. Nevertheless, the Portal Gateway was open, and Argenta was merely five feet away from them.

Lucine and Coral, without even being given the go ahead by Elthin, were the first to dash through the portal. The Portal's surface flexed slightly and rippled some more, further solidifying its resemblance to a body of water. While Lucine and Coral's actions were rather brash and deserving of a stern talking to about the dangers of rushing through Portals too quickly, Elthin remembered that portal transit could be very disorienting for first timers. They bought it upon themselves, and that would likely be punishment enough. However, he silently hoped that, whatever happened, it didn't mess up their nice dresses, or anything else, for that matter.

Shortly after the boisterous pair, Elthin and the others carefully stepped through the Portal and entered the Leylines linking Argenta and Brascus together. Freya and her children seemed used to portal travel and didn't seem too effected by the sudden change of standing on solid ground to flying through a psychedelic tunnel of prismatic Ley Energy. Within moments, Elthin and his current companions arrived in Argenta's Portal Room, where Coral and Lucine were splayed out on the floor looking quite ill.

"So...dizzy..." Lucine groaned as she curled up into a ball. "Feel like...gonna hurl..."

"Paaapaaaaa..." Coral weakly whined. "Coral feels woozy..."

Freya just shook her head and sighed.

"That's what you get for rushing through portals. This is your own fault." Freya lectured the pair. "It'll wear off soon enough, though I wouldn't recommend eating anything for the next few hours unless you want to be cleaning it off the floor. Also, don't make any sudden movements or you'll end up face-first on the ground again."

"Such children." Syl commented with an approving nod..

The Portal Master went about is work in powering up the Portal. Soon enough it was all taken care of and the Portal was activated. Leaving Elthin and his group looking into what appeared to be another room much like the one they were in. But this one must be Agrenta's room but it had a different Rune layout inside of it. Elthin was just about to say that they should all go together when Lucine and Coral took off.

They dashed through the Portal which Elthin and the others followed. Shortly after them taking a more slower time. He knew what traveling through the portals did to first timers and didn't want this to lead to a mess. But it was their own faults for running ahead after having stepped out he appeared to be like Freya and the children looking like his normal self. As he had taken portal travel many times in the past.

"It's your own faults for running ahead" Elthin told them.

Seeing as how they were laid out on the floor. "I agree with Freya no eating until you're both feeling better. As I don't want a mess on my hands not right now."

Elthin was in agreement with Freya that it was the boisterous pair's fault that they are now hugging the floor feeling like they'd just survived a whirlpool Nonetheless, the metal flooring in the Argentian Portal chamber wasn't the most comfortable bed to lie on to overcome travel sickness.

Freya, used to dealing with overzealous children, gently hoisted Coral up into a piggy back with the help of Syl and Willow. Taking the cue, Elthin reluctantly followed suite with Lucine, ensuring that he didn't touch anywhere on her in which she could bite back with a retort, even though she was likely far too unwell at present to express her usual wit.

Once everyone was gathered together again, in one way or another, Elthin led the group out of the Portal room, through the Guild (asking a Guild Member for directions to the entrance) and out into the streets of Argenta. Now, all that was left was finding their apparent guide.

"To protect the peace of the Citizens." A sudden, young sounding girl's voice echoed through the square outside of the guild. "To allow our fair city to prosper."

"It's her!" Willow gleefully squeaked out upon hearing the unidentified voice.

"To ensure that no harm comes to our livelihoods, we make a stand! We are the hidden cog in the machine. The vital bolt in the frame. The ticking timepiece keeping Argenta moving. We are COG!"

A sudden burst of wind blasted outwards around ten feet away from Elthin and his group, ruffling the clothing of all those present, causing Syl to blush and yelp as her skirt flew up, revealing a cute pair of rabbit print panties. Willow just giggled in delight at the display. Seconds later, the wind coalesced back to its origin point, disappearing as a young looking girl stood in front of them. She was holding a strange metal device in her right hand. Its shape looked similar to that of a crossbow, but it was much more sleek and refined. It didn't have a shaft for the arrows, or a string to pull back. Instead it had a small 9mm hole at the tip of the tilted 'L' shaped body. She had no visible ammunition on her, but her weapon was pointed towards Elthin and his group.

"We have arrived!" The girl finished.

"IT'S NARU!" Willow practically screamed in excitement.

So this was the famed 'Naru' that Willow idolised, and Zena begrudgingly accepted friendship with.

Naru wasn't that tall of a girl, maybe just a head taller than Lucine. She had a nice thin, but evidently athletic, figure. Her auburn hair was tied in a set of twintails on either side of her head, and her amber eyes glowed with determination. She was dressed in an outfit somewhat similar to Coral's regular clothes. However, Naru's uniform was a navy blue with a red bow and accents, rather than Coral's brightly coloured one. Unsurprisingly, Naru had a navy blue skirt on, rather than the swimsuit Coral was given. On her right thigh, just barely visible under the hem of her skirt, she had a black holster, more than likely used to sheath the weapon currently in her hand. On her feet she had a set of navy blue ankle socks and navy blue plimsolls.

Despite her small size, she seemed quite the imposing figure, but that may just be because of her ability to appear seemingly out of nowhere in an instant, followed by the fact she was brandishing a weapon never seen before by people outside of Argenta.

"So, you're the creep after my Zee-zee?" Naru firmly questioned Elthin. "You've also said you'd want to see her naked, too, didn't you?!"

There's only one way this line of questioning could lead to...

"Let's make this very clear..." Naru began in her usual tone, before suddenly shouting out her next statement. "AIN'T NOBODY GONNA SEE ZEE-ZEE NAKED BUT ME!"

...but that likely wasn't the expected outcome. What a strange girl...

Elthin was the one to pick up Lucine and give her a piggy back ride as they. Left the guild he was glad that she didn't throw up on him or anything as they stepped outside. Arriving on the streets of Agrenta Elthin's first move was to look around at everything around him taking in all the sights and sounds. For several moments while next having to find some sort of guild he didn't know the way to Duke Trent's palace. Right as he was about to go in search of one he heard a voice call out. Followed by Willow saying 'It's her' who ever that could be.

Suddenly a young girl appeared out in the open causing a gust of wind. To blow that made Syl yelp and blush Elthin's took in the girl by sight and quickly saw the weapon she carried. In her hand it appeared to be some sort of crossbow but there didn't. Appear to be any sort of arrows that Elthin could see. His hand reached for the hilt of his own sword. Not really knowing what this girl wanted. But Willow still seemed excited and said that this was Naru.

"So, this is the girl I was told about?" Elthin thought to himself.

Naru next seemed to turn her attention upon him and start to accuse. Him of wanting to see Zena naked.

"Just my luck another person who appears to have a problem with me." Elthin sighed. He set Lucine down for a moment and walked over to Naru he walked around her. Then back to where he had been standing.

"Go right ahead see her naked for all I care take pictures as well so that, you can hang them on your wall." Elthin said. As Naru was most likely about to make a reply back to him on what he had just said he interupted her. "I'm not here for any further games, if possible can you please lead us to Duke Trent?"

Upon leaving the Guild where the Portal Room was, Elthin decided to take in the sights of the city.

Argenta looked extremely different in comparison to Brascus. While Brascus had mostly stoneworked buildings, with only a few brick built ones in the Nobles district, Argentian buildings were all Brick built, with not a single stoneworked one in sight. Unlike Brascus buildings, which only really had thatched/wooden roofs, Argentian buildings were tiled by slates of stone and other heavy duty buildings materials. It was like stepping into a whole new world full of expensive buildings.

This area of the City looked to mostly be a business or commercial area, as it was filled with buildings with little signs hanging outside advertising what produce they were selling, and a few market stalls peddling basic items, like fruit and vegetables. Even the citizens of Argenta were incredibly different from the ones in Brascus. In Brascus, class distinction was pretty much a social norm but here, in Argenta, there was no clear distinction between workers, the affluent or the less influential. Citizens seemed to go about their normal days without interfering with others, or throwing judgemental remarks. Peace reigned in this city,, it seemed, and everyone went about their lives without causing problems for others.

Argentian architecture looked more like the kind of things Elthin had read about the Mainland. It utilised the abundant amount of Stone and other hard-wearing materials excavated from the numerous mines and caverns littering the outskirts of the city to create wondrous decorations, like the working fountain in the middle of the Square.

Elthin wanted to take in more of the city, but his little sightseeing was disrupted by an overzealous COG Operative, who, like so many others, accused Elthin of illicit relationships with minors. Even if his earlier statement was intended as a joke, word is sure to travel around girls, so there was bound to be some kickback.

Elthin, being cautious of the fact an unidentified weapon was being aimed at his group, reached for the hilt of his sword and then headed on over to appraise this latest arrivals. Considering the fact Elthin had not removed his hand from the readied position, it was unsurprising that Naru would take the approach as an act of aggression. She didn't appear to listen to Elthin's statement in regards to her earlier outburst as her attention was on the fact that this little encounter may escalate to dangerous levels.

Taking Elthin as a hostile target, Naru disappeared in a blast of wind, which blew past Elthin at gale levels, before materialising next to Lucine, with her weapon in one hand, still trailed on Elthin, and Lucine in her other arm.

"Drop your weapon." Naru instructed Elthin in a commanding tone. "If you don't, I'll arrest you under suspicion of intentional terrorism, and your little friend here will be coming with me to COG HQ."

"Typical Men." Freya sighed. "Always quick to draw their swords at women."

Having made one fatal error with Naru which had been keeping his hand. Upon the hilt of his sword and having no removed it yet. Elthin covered his face as Naru swept past at gale force level appearing next to Lucine and taking her by the arm. Yet her weapon was still pointed right at him. He heard Freya's comment but didn't say anything to her about it he removed his hand from the hilt of his sword then set it on the ground.

"Lower your weapon or you yourself shall be arrested and taken. To COG HQ for threating to do harm to Prince Veldhar first crown prince of the kingdom of Glacialis!" Elthin warned Naru he didn't want to cause further trouble here in Argenta but things were getting out of hand thanks to Naru's own faults and weapon pointing.

"Again I ask can we please be taken to see the Duke and just forget about this?"

Elthin attempted to defuse the situation by throwing Naru's threat back at her, and also brandishing his heritage as a makeshift weapon.

"Who from what now?" Naru questioned, oblivious to the lineage Elthin had just reeled off to her. "A-anyway, you can't take a COG operative to COG HQ! We're in charge of the place! It'll be like arresting City Watch inside City Watch Barracks!"

While Naru argued with Elthin, her weapon fell to her side, but still remained in her hand.

"I don't care if you're the Lead Director of the 'Magical Makki Show', if you threaten the peace of Argenta, then I'll have to take you in under my authority as a COG operative." Naru continued.

"Um...you're kinda disturbing the peace." Syl pointed out, her face still a little flushed from her earlier panty flash.. "You're picking a fight with a tourist party from Brascus in the middle of Commercial Square."

"Not to mention preventing two Portal-Sick girls from getting the rest they need." Freya interjected. "Anyway, I take it you're our guide to visiting Duke Trent? He did mention we'd be getting a rather strange girl as a guide, and you definitely fit that description."

"B-but, he said he wanted to see my darling Zee-zee naked, and, as her betrothed, I can't allow anyone to sully her purity like that!" Naru attempted to justify her actions.

"That's self-proclaimed betrothed." Willow countered. "Anyway, you can knock some sense into him when we get to Zena's house. Until then, you'll have to put up with this tactless rich-guy, like we have."

Elthin's request finally got through to Naru. She holstered her weapon and let go of Lucine.

"I guess I've gotta put up with you for a while longer." Naru complained, heaving a heavy sigh. "Just know this, if you try any funny business while I'm on duty, you're getting a one-way ticket to a crash course in Argentian behaviour, Naru style!"

"...Coral knows that smell..." Coral weakly stated absently. "...two...nice scents..."

"I wasn't threating the peace at it as this whole mess was your fault. If you had not pointed your weapon at me this would never have happened." Elthin pointed out.

Syl and Freya then both spoke up which seemed to calm Naru down some. But when she mentioned about seeing Zena naked again. Elthin got angry "I don't want to see her naked I just want her to stop being a jerk to me all the time." Elthin sighed.

The request finally got through.

"And I you, so don't go being a pain in the ass any longer or. Trying to get on my nerves anymore if you do I'll just have to tell the Duke and he can be the one to disaplain you,"

Elthin threatened his guide once more.

"Maybe I should just ditch you down a side street if that's how you want to be." Naru countered.

"I think you're being a bit too hard on the poor girl." Freya informed Elthin. "She's just concerned about the wellbeing of her friend. Plus, she's always been short tempered."

"Papa, don't be mean." Coral interjected quietly.

Whatever tensions remained between the pair, it was evident they were going to get nowhere just standing around arguing, so Naru reluctantly led the way to Duke Trent's residence. It was a bit of a walk from Commercial Square, but at least the sights were nice. Coral seemed to look up a little when the group passed by a Brother and Sister duo heading towards one of the large buildings on the edge of the Commercial District. However, the Younger Sister of the duo definitely stood out from the crowd with her bright green hair and pale green eyes.

Fashion was strange in Argenta, but nobody else seemed to have such elaborate tastes to match this girl's. Even her brother shared no vibrant traits and, instead, had simple light brown hair and deep hazel eyes. The girl's hair was either dyed, or was some kind of strange genetic throwback. It also looked to have an odd feathery texture to it, but that could just be the lighting. Nonetheless, the girl was evidently getting on her brother's nerves with her fidgeting and complaining, yet countering her complaints by insisting that the 'pre-order bonus' was more important than anything else, whatever that was. It'll take some getting used to to understand Argenta.

Arriving at a rather standard looking building in the Residential District, Naru stopped and turned to face the group.

"We're here." She explained.

"Being too hard on her look at the way she is treating me." Elthin countered.

He was fed up with Naru but gave in when Coral told him not to be mean, So as Naru then led the way Elthin took in the wonders of the town as they passed by buildings and other marvels and wonders as they passed a Brother and Sister duo Elthin could see. Coral look at them and the girl appeared to stand out with bright green hair and pale green eyes. He watched the pair for a while and as he watched the girl fidgeting and complaining for some odd reason. He pictured one of the younger girls like that, Not really knowing why he just brushed the thought aside.

They soon arrived at a rather standard looking building in the Residential District. Naru announced that they were here. Walking over he towards the door he looked for any sort of device he could use to announce that they were there.

"Will you lead us inside?" Elthin asked.

During the walk to their destination, Elthin had some questionable images filtering through his mind as he looked upon the young Green Haired girl, imagining Syl, Willow, or even Coral going through the self-inflicted plight this girl was subjecting herself to. Thankfully, no one in Argenta (so far) possessed the ability to send, receive or intercept cognitive musings, otherwise Naru may just have to go through with her earlier threat, as Argenta surely had restrictions against the exploitation of minors, even if certain other Cities may not.

Upon arrival at Duke Trent's residence, Elthin looked for some device to announce his presence by the door,, and asked if Naru would go in with them.

"I have business with Zee-zee, anyway, so that's why I agreed to this." Naru answered.

Naru caught on to Elthin's lack of understanding for Argentian technology and decided to take matters into her own hands once more. Naru pushed a small button on the door frame and a faint ringing could be heard on the other end of the door.

"You just push a tiny button, it's not Advanced Aviation." Naru sighed. "Seriously, how backwater is Brascus?"

There was a small delay between the ringing stopping and the door opening.

"Really, Naru? You always call at the worst- BWAH!" Zena complained as she opened the door only to find, not just Naru there, but Elthin and his group as well. She wasn't exactly dressed for entertaining guests, considering she had nothing more than a pink towel wrapped around her otherwise naked body. She'd likely just come out of the bath, and wasn't expecting Elthin to be this early, maybe. Her face turned a deep crimson as she screamed and tried to cover herself up as much as possible.

"ZEE-ZEE!" Naru gleefully shouted as she pounced onto the prone girl. "Did you pretty yourself up just for me? You're adorable enough without going the extra mile!"

Having a raging Yuri-loving girl on top of her provided Zena with a little more cover, but she was still far from comfortable.

"You're so careless answering the door in nothing but a towel. What if I wasn't there to protect you from this pervy-perv? You really need to take better care of keeping your purity safe for when we tie the knot." Naru continued as she attempted to wrestle herself underneath the towel wrapped around Zena. Zena's superhuman strength was the only think keeping her nakedness from being shown to the world as a result of Naru's assault.

"Well, there goes my quiet afternoon." Duke Trent joked as he arrived in the hall. "Sorry for the noise, and for the little tussle happening in the doorway. Just step over the two. Naru will tire out soon enough, unless Zena culls her passion."

"I am not from Brascus" Elthin replied.

Naru appeared to hit a small device on the side to get the attention of those inside. As he walked for someone to answer the door. His thoughts seemed to travel back to earlier he didn't know why he had those very thoughts. He always told himself that he wasn't into that sort of thing that all these kids were far too young for him. But it seemed like all the time ever since he met Lucine lewd acts were happening all the time or at least here and there.

"I'm almost starting to enjoy it" Elthin thought.

The door soon opened and Elthin and company were greeted by Zena who appeared. In nothing but a towel seeing her blush then scream caused Elthin to laugh. But also another slight feeling came but he pushed that feeling away or tried to hide it the best her could.

"Thank you for the gift." Elthin told Zena.

Naru and Zena seemed to have a small wrestling match as Naru tried to get under Zena's towel. Here and there he saw flashes of skin. Which caused that odd feeling to grow but it was soon stopped when Duke Trent appeared.

"That'd be for the best." Elthin walked inside past Zena and Naru. Allowing the others to enter as well.

"So, what shall we be doing first do you want to discuss our business alone in private. Or would you like me to start the teaching job?"

Getting partially enticed by the near-naked girl and her overenthusiastic companion, Elthin was just about able to be drawn back to the less perverted events by a timely appearance of the host of this house visit. With his mind almost always on work, Elthin asked about the business discussions and what order they shall be completed in.

"First things first, I think we should put your kids down for a nap." Duke Trent suggested. "I don't think you're carrying them because they're just feeling a little lazy. I take it they dashed through the portal before readying themselves for the transit?"

"Just like the children they are." Syl agreed once more. "They didn't even give us a chance to say anything before running to their own detra...detru..."

"Detriment." Freya finished.

"Yeah! That." Syl concluded.

"Kind of like your first time travelling here, huh?" Duke Trent commented, much to the disapproval of Syl.

Freya set Coral down in a chair in the kitchen. The Dragonling just lay her head on the table and groaned quietly.

"Still got some of the ingredients left over from before?" Freya asked Duke Trent.

"They should be in the medicine cabinet. I don't have a full alchemy lab, but I think a stove and sinks are enough, right?" Duke Trent replied.

"They'll be enough, though getting these two to drink the medicine will likely be the hardest part."

Freya set about gathering all the stuff she needed to create a quick fix to the girls' travel sickness. The ingredients looked somewhat like the sorts of plants she had back in her Brascus Clinic, perfectly maintained to allow for multiple uses from the same germination pot. It seemed like Freya had a fair amount of trade with Argenta in the ways of herb maintenance and cultivation, as well as their uses in remedies.

It was suggested that they put the young ones to sleep for a nap. Elthin set Lucine down in a chair next to Coral in the kitchen, As Freya went about making something for the girl's to drink Elthin stood off to the side and watched quietly for a while.

"Freya here is trying to make you both feel better so, drink whatever she makes." Elthin told both girls he then looked to see if Zena and Naru were around. Both looking to Syl and Willow "I'm sure both of you girls would like to catch up with your friends if its, Okay with the Duke and Freya you can go see them?"

Elthin asked the two healthy girls if they wanted to go catch up with the loving couple, who'd now taken their little playtime upstairs, with Naru chasing Zena.

"I think we'd best wait until they've sorted out their little quarrel." Syl suggested. "I'll see if I can find something to make the remedy a little less bitter."

Syl went about searching the kitchen for some sweet addition to the remedy which wouldn't reduce its potency or change its effects. Willow ensured that home safety was taken into consideration by closing the front door.

The girls would visit their friends when things had calmed down some. Not knowing what else he could do as everyone appeared to be doing things Elthin just watched, "What can I do to help?" Elthin finally asked.

Elthin was at a loss for what to do.

"Zena was meant to go and get the rooms all set up with bedrolls and stuff, but she got a little too hygiene-conscious when she heard you were coming, so it hasn't been finished yet." Duke Trent explained. "I hate asking guests to prepare their own rooms, but, as she's currently having a little bonding session with Naru, there's not many other options. Just stay out of Zena's room until she's got herself sorted, or, maybe, you could go and startle some modesty into her by going in anyway. Either way, the little ones will be bedding down with her this evening, so her room needs setting up as well. You're okay with sharing a room with Freya, right?"

Elthin wondered if the reason why Zena had done what she did. Had something to do with him at all but he pushed the thought aside.

"I wouldn't even know where her room is, and I have no problem with sharing a room with Freya." Elthin says.

While the little ones were still busy going about making sure the others. Were going to be okay for later Elthin finally asked where Zena's room was.

"Can you point me in the direction of where I need to go in order to find her room?"

Elthin thought against invading Zena's privacy and infiltrating her most sacred of places. However, devious thoughts soon began to overtake his mind and make him second guess his original decision.

"It's the only door upstairs with a name plaque hanging on it. You can't miss it." Duke Trent answered. "Her room's also opposite the bathroom, so you can scout out that as well."

Was Elthin really planning on scouting out the bathroom. To find Zena or Naru not really as that would lead to trouble. "I will just try her room." Elthin then left the kitchen and followed along until. He found the stairs going up.

Climbing the stairs he took a moment to look around at the wonders of Duke Trents home before. He reached the top and started searching for Zenas room. He found it soon enough and was about to knock on the door. But instead listened first to see if anyone was inside.

Elthin decided to not test things too much and invade the bathroom in hopes of finding two girl going at it like rabbits.

"I meant in in more of the context of getting a lay of the house." Duke Trent corrected Elthin. "Just don't do anything too untoward. I'm fine with you teasing here, though."

Elthin headed up the stairs, scouting out Duke Trent's abode as he did so. The house itself looked very much like a standard Middle-class wood and stone home from Brascus, and nothing like where one would expect a Duke to live, of all things. It was just big enough to fit a family of five, six at a push, and had pretty much next to no fanciful decorations, save for a few trinkets no doubt unearthed from Ruin Exploration. There was some attempt at prettying up the place with a small vase of flowers, but that was likely due to Zena's insistence.

Going up the stairs, Elthin noticed that there were decorative weapons and various tools placed up as display objects, bolted to the walls to prevent them from being removed. Some of the swords on display looked very much like the Ritual Swords which Adepts and above used to carry before the Archmage's ruling. The gems coinciding to the Six Base elements of life from ancient scriptures were embedded into the swords, with no more than three out of the six being in them at one time. The Obsidian Gem however, which represented the Prime God of Death, was nowhere to be seen in any of the Ritual Swords. That stood as little surprise, as any follower of Ancient Scriptures would know that displaying an Obsidian on a weapon, whether decorative or not, was an act of severe Heresy throughout most of the world. Even today, Obsidian gems are rarely used in jewellery or item creation and people still tend to avoid using Obsidian in Weapons or tools.

It seemed like Duke Trent was as much of a weapon buff as Elthin was.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Elthin found Zena's room with no difficulty. However, it wasn't just down to the name plaque, but rather more down to the amount of noise that was coming from that room. Being curious, Elthin decided to listen in on the events going on behind Zena's closed door...

"Come on, Zee-zee, it's just a little peek."

"How many times do I have to tell you? NO MEANS NO! I will not let you undress me!"

"But I, as your lawfully betrothed, have to make sure you're keeping your body pure for when we completing the Bedding Ceremony after we get married. I'm gonna take your first time whether you like it or not!"

Various crashes, thuds and shouting were soon heard behind the door.

"You're so perverted! Do you have anything in your brain except pervy thoughts about me?! You're no better than that weirdo with the big lizard!"

"So, that despicable deviant is corrupting my darling Zee-zee with his perverted mind?! How dare he think the thoughts that only I should be thinking!"

"HEY! No! Don't pull on that part of the towel! You'll- IIIIIIIIYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"OH. MY. GOD! I saw Zee-zee's special place!"

There was frantic sounds of a struggle reverberating through the upper floor, which was soon accompanied by frantic sprinting towards Zena's bedroom door. If Elthin didn't move fast enough, he'll likely have a completely naked Zena using him as a crash target.

As Elthin had traveled up the stairs and looked around the Duke's home. He was surprised to see that it looked mainly like the ones back in Brascus, He had thought the Duke might have lived in something bigger and grander but he was wrong. One thing Elthin did take notice of was the various items that looked to have been picked up through Ruin Exploration.

He saw different sets of tools and weapons that were set up on display. Various types of Ritual Swords lined the walls and Elthin stopped to get a closer look at some of them. At one point he tried to take on down to get a better look at it. But found it was bolted to the wall, Elthin didn't know that the Duke was as much a weapon buff as he was. Deciding that he'd speak with the Duke later about these things. He went to Zena's room where he heard a great deal of noise.

It seemed like they were still going at it.

As he listened more his thoughts traveled to where he found himself. In Naru's shoes being the one who was doing that sort of thing to Zena. Small lewd thoughts found their way into his mind of seeing Zena naked, seeing her underwear, wetting herself etc. Shaking his head to rid himself of those thoughts. He started for the knock and was about to give a knock upon it.

"Hey it's m..."

Elthin lost himself in the questionable thoughts he'd been having since the trip to Argenta upon hearing Zena and Naru's little 'Bonding Time', if it could even be called that. However, he caught himself once more and attempted to remove the lewd thoughts regarding minors from his mind.

Now, with some semblance of self-control left, Elthin was about to knock on Zena's door when it was swung open at incredible speeds. All Elthin saw was a blur of peach in the shape of a humanoid before he felt a hefty impact on his front, causing him to lose balance and come crashing down to the floor as the peach coloured blur landed on top of him.

When the craziness had ended, Elthin felt a considerable weight across his body, even more so around his abdomen and lower regions. He also felt that he couldn't sit up, no matter how hard he tried.

"So it was you?!" Elthin heard Naru's angry statement. "First, you listen in on our private girl-to-girl talk, and now, you're openly trying to violate my darling Zee-zee! You're coming with me to COG HQ unless you come up with a very valid excuse for your perverted transgressions!"

Oh dear...

Elthin looked at the weight on his front to see a stark naked Zena sprawled out across him, with her 'special place' directly over his tent-pole, and pushing down slightly against it. Well, better start coming up with a very believable excuse or face the Argentian Justice System...

Just as Elthin was about to knock on the door it swung. Open at incredible speeds all he saw was a blurry human shape before it slammed into him. Causing him to lose balance and crash to the floor with something falling atop of him. As his vision started to clear up he tried to stand up but for an odd reason couldn't he tried again and again, But no matter what he wasn't able to sit up at all,

Looking down he saw that Zena lay across him stark naked. He could feel her 'special place' pushing down against his own 'happy place.' However it wasn't long before he heard the human bitch that was Naru bitching at him once again.

"I was only coming upstairs to talk to Zena about getting the rooms ready for her friends." Elthin countered. As he looked her in the eye "well you're not going to just stand there like an idiot hurry up and get her off me!"

Elthin bit back against Naru's threats and explained his case. Naru was about to give her usual kind of answers when Elthin posed the option of helping to get the completely naked ZenaI off of him, which would likely require her to get all hands on to move her.

"I can really touch Zee-zee's soft body?!" Naru gleefully answered at the prospect of touching up her best friend. "Where should I start first?!"

Before Zena could counter Elthin's blatant sacrificing of her to the sex-crazed beast that is Naru, the horny homo hastily grabbed at Zena, starting with one hand over the poor girl's small exposed breasts, and her other down where Elthin's groin was, likely exploring the cavernous depths of Zena's Nirvana. There was some minor brushing of Naru's hand against Elthin's crotch, but most of her effort was on infiltrating Fort-Zena.

"Everything okay up there?" Duke Trent called up the stairs.

"Yes! Of course everything's fine!" Naru quickly cut in before any other response could be given. "Zee-zee's just being a klutz again."

"Oh, okay. Don't break anything." Duke Trent answered.

"We won't!"

Naru managed to easily lift Zena off Elthin as the young girl struggled to break out of the groping.

"I'll overlook it this time as I got to touch Zee-zee all over, but don't let me catch you again!" Naru informed Elthin.

"Stop touching me the-kyaaaa!" Zena tried to scold Naru, but the other girl's hands were too good at their work.

While Elthin had enjoyed Zena's soft small body against her own especially, Down there where is own 'mini me' was he knew if she had stayed on him for longer. Naru would just find new ways whine and bitch. Naru even touched his groin which brushed her hand against it. Elthin slapped it away an got to his feet.

"Don't touch me" Elthin says.

As Naru started to molest Zena before his eyes. The Duke called up to them seeing if everything was fine.

"It's fine."

Deciding to do something nice for a change Elthin spoke up.

"Can't you see she doesn't like that why not leave her alone?" Elthin asked. Yet Naru still kept going about her ways until Elthin reached out with a hand and pulled Zena away. It took a little effprt on his part and once Zena was freed. He leaned down and whispered into her ear "you owe me." then moving away.

"Zena you should go get dressed the girl's need their rooms made up for tonight."

Elthin protested to Naru's accidental brushing of her hand against his groin.

"Ew! Why the hell would I want to touch your groin?!" Naru countered. "You were in the way of mine and Zee-zee's private time! You could've had the decency to move your dirty boy-parts out of the way!"

Elthin tried to defend Zena's chastity and save her from the unlawful molestation from Naru.

"You stay out of this!" Naru shot back. "What happens between myself and my future wife is none of your business!"

Eventually, Elthin pulled Zena from the clutches of the sex offender that is Naru. He didn't neglect to remind Zena that he owed her one.

"I-it's not like I asked for you help!" Zena whispered back. Despite her harsh tone, it seemed like she was really grateful. Soon enough, the 'Dere' side of this mostly 'Tsun' Tsundere came out. "B-but thanks for that." From that admittance of her gratitude, Zena's face blushed a deep crimson.

"I'll get you for that, you fiend!" Naru informed Elthin, evidently aggravated from her stolen 'wife'. "Nothing comes between me and my Zee-zee! You hear me? NOTHING!"

In a fit of anger, Naru dashed off down the stairs and slammed the front door behind her. Now that they were alone together, Elthin reminded Zena of her duties.

"I-I know that." Zena replied. "But...could you...y'know...not stare so much at me?"

"Your private time was nothing more then a molestation fest. I an surprised Zena here doesn't report you to the Duke,

Naru whined about Elthin interuppting their private time.

"Not when someone is attacking someone who doesn't like it." Elthin countered.

Zena appeared to be thankful for Elthin helping her out. He took notice of her blushing crimson he took notice of this and then watched as Naru after whining again ran off down the hall. Then out the front door to the home.

"I don't know how you put up with her?" Elthin asked.

Zena knew she had to get changed and for him not to stare so much.

"Can't help it you're rather cute after all when you're not trying to bite my head off." Elthin took another moment to look at Zena's naked body then motioned for her to head to her room.

"If you want I can stand guard outside the door in case she comes back?"

Elthin was at a loss for how Zena tolerated the future offender that is Naru. He then admitted that Zena was quite cute when she wasn't being a Sadist. This, of course, triggered her Tsun side once more, but with a little bit extra Dere in than normal.

"I only bite your head off when you keep suggesting that I do childish things, like wetting the bed. W-Which I totally don't do, of course. Really!" Zena countered, the blush not leaving her face, even as she tried to cover herself up once more with the discarded towel. "I-I don't need no watcher. She's gone off for the day, and Big Bro would know if she came back."

Upon her evident dismissal of the offer for a 'Guard', Zena shut herself in her room to get changed.

The blush was still on her face as she tried to cover herself up with the towel. "I guess I'll have to take your word for it or I could always check to see it that is really true?" Elthin teased. He wasn't trying to be mean to Zena this time around, She then said she didn't need a watcher and hurried back to her room to get changed.

"See you later and thanks for not chewing my head off." Elthin turned away and headed back downstairs.

Elthin just couldn't leave Zena without teasing her one last time for now. Of course, Zena reacted very much like she normally does, blushing as deep a crimson as her face can go and then shouting off back at him.

"Don't even think about doing that! If you come into my room while we're sleeping, then I'll personally hand you in to COG myself!" Zena countered. "You don't wanna know what Naru and the others would do to someone who peeks on kids sleeping for their own personal pleasure!"

Elthin then left Zena to her own devices and headed back downstairs, to be greeted by Coral and Lucine coughing and spluttering after drinking the remedy to soothe their ailments. Syl had tried to sweeten it up as much as she could, but there's only so much she could put into it before the foul medicine wouldn't work as intended.

"You certainly know how to push a girl's buttons." Duke Trent joked to Elthin. "I've gotta say, you must've done something very particular to have a girl like Naru storm out of the house in a fit of rage. That's commendable in its own right."

"All I did was stop her fun time which she didn't like." Elthin replied.

He looked over to the two girls who were coughing and spluttering, "Zena should be finished shortly, in the meantime what else can I do?" Elthin asked he wanted some alone time to speak with Duke Trent about the various weapons he saw on the walls.

"She shouldn't have been playing around in the first place. She's still on duty until Four O'clock, as far as I'm aware." Duke Trent answered. "Good of you to stop her slacking on the job."

Elthin glanced at the coughing couple at the table before wondering just what he could do next.

"Now that Zena's up and working again, you could take a look around the city until dinner, or we could always take you to your place of work and give you a rundown of what'll be expected of you there." Duke Trent suggested. "Either way, you're free to roam around and do as you please until you head back to Brascus tomorrow evening."

Elthin was glad he didn't have to explain just. What Naru had really been doing. The Duke then mentioned on what Elthin could do in the meantime.

"I will roam around the city for a while before. Coming back here for the other business. I was told there are some ruins around here?"

Elthin offered alternatives for ways to open the sealed door to the uncovered ruins.

"You're the Magician, you do what you think will work." Duke Trent shrugged. "If you find any loot, be sure to bring it back for Appraisal. Of course, you'll get a cut of it for finding the stuff in the first place, though any Ritual Swords or weapons I'll get first pickings on."

"Go check the door out yourself and see if you find any means of opening it. Try whatever plan comes to your head, just don't bring down the Mine with the door, as we still need the ore and Obsidian from it."

Duke Trent told him he was free to do whatever he thought would work. Then if her found any loot bring it back for Appraisal. Followed by any Ritual Swords of weapons he got first pick on.

"Oh, that reminds me I haven't shown this to you yet." Elthin replied.

He left the room for a few moments and went to his belongings. And took his sword once he returned he handed it over to Duke Trent to have a look at. "Here have a look at this, and if I find anything I'll bring what's back,"

"Do, you have any sort of map of the city I can barrow to use to find my way to the Mine?" he asked,

A sudden idea came to Elthin's mind as he remembered the collection of Swords Duke Trent had on display. The thought of showing something took the interest of Syl, who was gently rubbing Coral's back in an attempt at soothing the effects of Portal Transit. When he returned with a sheathed sword, Syl could only comment and sigh

"Oh, great. You've done it now."

Like the weapon maniac that he was, it didn't take Duke Trent long to unsheath the sword and look at every fine detail of it from various angles.

"Some really good craftsmanship here." Duke Trent commented, sounding a little too enthused by the prospect of weaponry. "Good weight to it, nice decoration, great balance across the blade and some very remarkable Masterworking!"

Duke Trent examined everything he could about the blade, even going as far as doing some test swings, much to the dismay of Syl, who was a little too close to the swinging area.

"However, a little to light for my liking. Nothing like a Warmaul or a Flail. Where'd you get it from? It looks too well made for modern crafting practices, but it also doesn't look like it's that old. Could it be...a relic?!"

Elthin asked about a map of the city, but Duke Trent was still far too captivated by the weapon, so it was left to Syl to provide that answer.

"You've set him off on another Sword-freak moment." Syl informed Elthin. "The only city maps here are used for Troop Placement in the Barracks and COG Headquarters. However, I'm sure Willow knows the mine he's talking about."

"I think it's off past the Commercial District, isn't it?" Willow questioned. "That's what Naru told me, anyway, back when it was first discovered."

Duke Trent examined Elthin's blade for all that it was worth. He looked to be an expert on this sort of thing.

"I picked it up in the ruins of Felh Anore a ciity belonging to the Snow Elves. I believe it is a relic but it might be something more to it then that. When I was researching about the blade I learned it had been made from some of the feathers from the Ice Phoenix known as Frostheart',' Elthin told him.

When asked about for a map to the Mine, Duke Trent didn't answer but Syl did, This was because the Duke was far too interested in Elthin's sword.

"If I were to leave here which way would I go to get to the Commerical District?"

Elthin explained a little about the blade he'd handed to be appraised. Upon the mention of an Ice Phoenix, Duke Trent weet off even more on a weapon maniac tangent.

"So it's made with Cryophoenix feathers?!" Duke Trent questioned, sounding even more interested in the blade than he was before. "Perhaps it was a blade belonging to an Elven Spellsword of legend?! I thought all things linking to the combination of Magic and weaponry was taken under the protection of the Archmage. You could have an Elven Spell-focus here which greatly improves a Magician's potency to levels near unheard of!"

"And on with the military jargon." Syl sighed in exasperation.

Elthin asked about directions to the commercial district. It didn't take long for Willow to volunteer herself to be a guide, just to get away from the Duke's weapon obsession.

"I can take you to an alleyway leading straight to the Commercial District. When you leave the alleyway, you'll soon see the warning signs of excavation underway. Just follow them and you'll reach the mine in no time. Though, 'Magical Makki' LE merchandise is currently going through its pre-order bonus dispensing right now, so you may have to navigate through a few fans to get to the mine." Willow explained to Elthin.

"Yes," Elthin responed to the first part of Duke Trent's question. "The sword belonged to the Snow Prince" Elthin said to the second part thinking on what he heard the Duke say. While he wanted to talk more about this with the Duke he had another thing on his mind, "We, can talk about this all later when I get back perhaps over a drink?" Elthin asked.

He then took his sword back from the Duke.

Willow offered to be his guide to the Commercial District.

"That will work, and who or what is 'Magical Makki'?"

Elthin further piqued Duke Trent's interest in the Blade by saying that it belonged to the Snow Prince. However, he soon retracted the bait by saying they'd discuss it later.

"I guess you're right." Duke Trent answered, sounding a little dejected by the sudden bailing of the conversation. "We need to get your little ones bedded down to rest and recuperate, after all."

"At last, some peace." Syl commented quietly under her breath. She really sounded like she hated these tangents into crazy conversations.

Elthin reclaimed his sword and then asked just what this 'Magical Makki' was. Willow appeared all for answering in a similar style to Duke Trent's weapon enthusiasm, but Syl quickly cut her off.

"It's basically a picture book aimed at older children to teens which is way more flashy images than words, and only has small speech bubbles for actual conversation in it. It's mostly packed full of tons of violence all done in 'the name of justice', or whatever those people fight for. In short, it's a picture book filled with violence which has sparked quite the fan following, enough even to prompt a live action play adapting the first three volumes of the series." Syl explained.

"Stole my thunder there, you little..." Willow grumbled, clearly upset that she couldn't geek out over something. "Anyway, let's get you to the Commercial District before it really starts filling up."

It was agreed upon that they would discuss things later. Then Syl spoke something under her breath and spoke about what 'Magical Makki' was.

"Sounds like a rather weird book if you ask me." Elthin said. He just didn't really understand it all that well.

"Okay, let's go." He motioned for Willow to lead the way.

Before any more fanatical conversations could be sparked into life, Elthin hurriedly requested for Willow to begin leading him towards the Alleyway he needed to follow to reach the Commercial district. Most of the journey was backtracking the route the group had taken to arrive at Duke Trent's residence. The pair passed through the residential district until they reached the place in which Elthin remembered seeing the Green Haired Girl and her suspected Brother.

Nestled between two rather large multi-storey Residential Buildings was a small alleyway which curved off to the left near the end of the visible part of it. It had a few metal cylinders with lids on down it, likely what Willow referred to as Rubbish Bins, and a box-like 'Recycling' container attached to the wall of the alleyway. There was also a few grates in the floor, which Elthin recognised as a drainage system, dotted about at even intervals in small dips in the concrete, shaped in such a way that rainwater would slide down into the Drain with little to no obstruction.

"Just take the left at the end, and follow along on your first right turning at the three-way and you'll find yourself in the main Commercial thoroughfare. The huge lights on the buildings will be a dead giveaway that you're heading to the right place." Willow informed Elthin. "Anyway, I'd better be heading back to help Syl and Freya with dinner. If you get lost anywhere, just look for people wearing Cog-shaped badges, like what Naru had on. They're COG agents who'll be able to direct you the rest of the way."

With her parting explanation, Willow headed off back towards Duke Trent's house, leaving Elthin at the entrance to the Alleyway.

Trusting in Willow's directions, Elthin did just as he was told and began to follow the alleyway down towards the Commercial District. It curved a few times after the first one, but, eventually, Elthin came across the right turning in the three-way intersection that Willow had told him about. Sure enough, he could see some lights reflecting off the windows and Rubbish bins. With a final left turning, the Commerical district was in sight! As well as some movement which Elthin vaguely managed to notice. It wasn't uncommon for others to be using alleyways as shortcuts, so there wasn't really much need to be concerned. So, without further delay, Elthin went down the last stretch into the Commercial District's brightly lit embrace.

However, as Elthin moved up the alleyway, the movements he'd noticed earlier were a little more easier to make out, but still kind of difficult to fully discern due to the vibrant backlighting. He thought he could see a small humanoid-like shape nervously flitting around a little ways in from the exit to the District. It stopped sometimes to bend over slightly, with barely noticeable tightly crossed legs, and both hands more towards their front than their sides. They continued on in, and so did Elthin.

When Elthin was a little over a few meters away from the antsy alleyway adventurer, the figure stopped at a drain and squatted down over it. It was at this point that Elthin was able to fully make out this figure and what they were doing. Due to what was going on, Elthin was gratefully relieved that he was alone and there were no COG patrols in the alleyway at present.

What Elthin saw was the young Green Haired girl from before openly peeing into the drain, with her eyes closed and a blissful smile on her face. From the force of her stream, she was likely at bursting point and was seconds away from it soaking her panties. Elthin had an unimpeded view of her hairless tiny treasure, sleek with spilt streams of surging secretions. Well, two visions of a girl's special place in less than an hour. Elthin was either blessed by the Gods of Ero, or cursed by the Gods of Justice. Whatever the case, Elthin didn't really have much time to ponder his luck as the girl's pale green eyes opened and were staring straight at Elthin.

When the haze of blissful relief faded, the girl's smile turned into a gasp of shock and her eyes went wide with surprise. Her small body began to tremble as her rivers gradually reduced themselves to droplets. Judging by the shortness of her relief, she likely had a very small bladder to be bursting with that little contents in it. The girl tried to say something, but all that came out of her rapidly reddening face were stammers. Within seconds, she'd bolted up from her squat and was fleeing full pelt back in the direction she came from, which was the route Elthin was taking to the Commercial District. She stumbled slightly a few feet away from her peeing spot and something fell from her legs as she did so. It wasn't liquid, by any means, but something very cloth-looking and a bright shade of pink and white. Despite that, the girl didn't stop her running.

Elthin was now, once more, alone in the alleyway. Just his luck...

Willow led the way which was mostly back tracking the way he and the others. Had come when going to the Duke's home. They soon reached the area where Elthin remembered seeing the green-haired girl and her brother. Between two of the buildings was a small alleyway that had been mentioned before Elthin looked at it as Willow spoke up about what to do next. 'Will do just that I don't want to get lost." Willow then headed back home leaving Elthin alone in the alleyway. Wishing that if he did get lost he wouldn't run into Naru.

Elthin moved forward following the directions in which he was told to go. As he moved along he caught sight or he thought he did of a small humanoid shape moving about. As he went further in that direction he soon came upon the Green-haired girl once more. She seemed to be squatting near the drain as he moved closer he could see that she was peeing into it. Getting a perfect view of her hairless treasure and the stream coming out from between her legs. As he watched her go about her business he found a strong awakening in his own special place.

The girl soon opened her eyes and stared right at him. Her smile turned to one of shock as she blushed bright red. This caused Elthin to do the same she then got up and ran away back the way he was going towards leaving something white and pink on the ground. She just kept running until she was out of sight.

Elthin stood there alone for a short time. His own needs had awoken again in the span of just several seconds. "Just my luck." Elthin sighed he walked forward until he spotted what lay on the ground. Looking down at it for a moment he studied it with his eyes. A thought of picking it up closed her mind but knowing his luck a COG member would show up in the next few seconds. And he would get into major trouble instead he just went on his way. Hoping to see the girl again and this time not having something bad happen.

Once the drain dribbler had dashed off, Elthin took a few moments to process the situation he'd just witnessed, and to tame the trouser snake that had reared its head. Once he'd come to terms with what he just saw, he went to check out what the girl had left behind.

It didn't take a genius to determine that the girl, in all her haste, had dashed off completely commando. The object she'd dropped were, in fact, her panties. They weren't anything too remarkable for any normal person. They were just a plain pair of children's pink panties with white polka dots, sized for children around the ages of 8-10 years. Just the kind that normally came in cheap multi-packs usually purchased by money conscious parents. Not the best money can buy, but they're durable, comfortable and definitely serve their purpose, providing they're being worn and not haphazardly discarded on the floor like these were.

One thing did stand out, though. At just the right angle, when the lights of the Commercial District were unimpeded, Elthin could vaguely make out a darkening of the fabric near where the girl's flower would carefully be nestled. It was just a small coin-sized patch, but it undoubtedly stood testament to the fact that the girl perhaps hadn't quite managed to keep her tides at bay completely. They would still be wearable, mind, but with a slight wet patch which could easily be ignored.

Realising that staring at a pair of children's panties, discarded in a dimly lit alleyway which a young blushing girl had just bolted out of, would likely make him a prime suspect of a serious offence should a COG operative patrol by, Elthin pushed aside his interest in the discarded delicates and headed on down the Alleyway to his goal. However, leaving said panties in an alleyway, while the young girl in question was likely milling around the city completely naked under her skirt, wasn't exactly the most charitable thing to do. It could even spark such a controversy that there might even be investigations against all who'd been near and around that place at this particular time. Perhaps it'd be a better idea to dispose of the evidence, or, even better, return them to their rightful owner? Sure enough, it'd look sketchy, but if he could play it well enough...who knows?

Elthin was only several feet away from having walked by the panties. Laying on the ground when he stopped and turned around and walked back towards the discarded pair. Reaching down he picked them up and placed them into his pocket. "Just my luck, I'm sure to get into trouble for this some how" Elthin said to himself. He didn't want to think about what would of happened if he had just left the pair there where he had found it.

Sure enough some COG agent would find the underwear. And it would all come back to bite him in the ass. As he started walking again a rather strange thought flashed across his mind. What was it with all these lewd things happening around him, seeing girl's peeing, having a naked girl fall atop of him, and various others. It just felt odd but part of him liked those times. As odd as it was he couldn't help but feel aroused at those thoughts and sights.

"Is wetting one self really that bad?"

That question he didn't know the answer to as he'd never have that sort of thing happen. To himself at all shaking his head he kept on walking wanting to hit the Mine, But first he'd make a slight detour maybe search for the green haired 'd give his search fifteen minutes and not a minute more.

Elthin's greater judgement got the better of him as he decided to collect up the discarded children's panties and take them back to their rightful owner. Whether out of sincerity or questionable curiosity, that was the course of action he decided to take. Picking them up off the ground, Elthin could faintly feel the slight dampness around the middle of the underwear.

With panties in pocket, Elthin went off to search for the owner of them to remove the incriminating evidence and prevent suspicion from being cast onto him. A fairly easy venture as all Elthin had to do was follow the crowds of people to one of the biggest stores in the Commercial District. It was a multi-story building the size of a Magician's Guild with an extremely long line outside of it. Due to the girl's unnatural hair colour, he spotted her within seconds. She appeared very close to the entrance to the building, but had a handful more patrons to go before her.

Now, how should he approach this?

Elthin was able to find the girl within seconds as she appeared to be near. The enterance to a building the size of the Magician's Guild. Mostly likely the reason for the large crowd was because everyone was wanting to buy the new book that Elthin had been told about earlier. But the main problem was how was he going to return this girl's underwear to her with out drawing any unwanted attention let alone having her run off again on him. Maybe getting to speak with her alone would work for the best that way he wouldn't have to deal with the large crowds.

Elthin walked over to the line and took his place. He'd wait for a chance to speak with the girl.

Instead of brazenly going up to his target and handing over the goods, Elthin decided to do the civilised thing and attempt to wait in line. However, from the looks of the line, he'd be waiting there until after sundown at this rate and only then just about get inside. How could a children's picture book be so popular?

After around five minutes of waiting, the line moved slowly forward and Elthin's goal was the next in line to enter the store. It was either do or do not, there was no middle ground. Elthin could walk up there, hand the panties over and then be gone, or he could choose to wait outside for when the girl inevitably left the store with her purchase and pre-order bonus.

Seeing as how waiting in line was going to be a bad idea. With the amount of people here it would surely be past sundown when he got inside Elthin didn't want to be waiting that long and seeing as how the girl was next. He had the choice of going up there now to return her item or wait until she left the store with her purchase.

Getting out of line Elthin decided to wait for the girl. Hoping that she wouldn't take too long to get what she came for.

Elthin decided that waiting outside for the girl was more time saving than waiting in line. So, Elthin left the line and moved over to the side a little, staying as close to the store as he could and keeping the entrance in his view. The girl disappeared inside the store with the sound of a shop bell ringing to indicate a customer's entrance. He waited around for near enough five minutes with no signs of the girl in sight. He was about to give up when he felt something very lightly collide with his back. An unusual feeling clouded his mind for a split second, akin to that of having more than his usual five main senses working, however, it faded as quickly as it came. Elthin turned to see just what had touched his back to find...

"Sor- BWAH!" The offender of the light touching began, before looking up and seeing Elthin. Despite how near undetectable it felt to Elthin, it seemed to work like a regular collision to the one who did it. The person who'd bashed into Elthin was...

A young girl, dressed in a casual short sleeved blouse with an orange decorative neckerchief underneath the collar, tied off with a cute looking ladybird shaped brooch. Her head just barely touched Elthin's waist in height, and she appeared to be around 8-10 years of age. Held around her waist by a small red leather belt was a charcoal coloured pleated skirt, which had a clasp catch on the left hand side from the girl's perspective, and a small zipper to also keep it from coming undone. She had cute black dolly shoes on her feet, with pink socks with white polka dots on underneath them. Finally, perhaps the most noticeable features, were her bright green hair and pale green eyes.

Elthin had been looking for this girl, but it turned out she found him instead. Who would've though there'd be a separate rear exit on a building as large and busy as this?

More out of realisation of the fact that he'd just witnessed her most embarrassing and vulnerable moment, the girl quickly darted back towards the exit of the shop, just as her older brother was leaving it.

"What did I tell you about walking with your eyes closed?" The girl's older brother sighed as she retreated behind him. He then turned to Elthin. "Sorry about that. She's been a little hyper over this comic book she likes reading, so she wasn't exactly paying attention to where she was walking."

The girl quietly began to mention something to her Brother, but Elthin was easily able to pick up what she was saying, as she wasn't exactly whispering it.

"Remember that complication I mentioned earlier?" The girl informed her Brother, blushing a deep crimson as she did so. "Well, he's the complication..."

The girl's older brother shook his head and countered back to his sister.

"Didn't I tell you it was a bad idea?"

The girl's brother took on a more professional behaviour now as he turned back to Elthin.

"I sincerely apologise on behalf of my baby sister for the violation of Public Morals she committed. I'm aware of three possible counts of violations she did: Indecent exposure, public urination and evasion of justice." The Girl's Brother started to explain, causing her to blush even more and completely cover herself up behind his back while whimpering in shame. "From my knowledge of the current options to pay off such offences, how much will the fine be? Let it be know that this'll be coming out of her snack and hobby allowance." His final statement was more directed at his sister than Elthin.

"Hey! That's so not fair!" The Young Girl whined and pouted.

"Well, it's your own fault for drinking so much when I told you we'd be away from home for a few hours." The Girl's Brother retaliated. "Let this be a lesson to you to know when to not overindulge."

It would seem there may have been some mixed messages going between this duo and Elthin's reason for approaching them.

Elthin waited around for the girl to exit the was getting bored with waiting around and five minutes passed he was just about to leave when he felt. Something bump into his back turning around to see what it was it turned out to be the green haired girl from before. As he looked at the girl before him she looked far cuter up close then she did from far away. Trying to not let such bd thoughts enter his mind he was about to speak up.

When the girl went back towards the store only for her brother to come was a slight talk between the pair with the girl blushing for a time.

"I think this was just a misunderstanding." Elthin said.

He was about to say why he was here when her brother started speaking.

"Wait, wait I'm not here to collect any sort of fine. I am only here to return something to your sister that she dropped." Elthin tried to explain it was now. His turn to blush as he wasn't sure how this would work.

"I believe she dropped these, and here you go I'm returning this back because it would cause quite the mess if COQ found them." Elthin reached into his pocket and took out the girl's panties handing them over.

"This is the only reason why I am here this whole thing was just a bad accident."

After the explanation of rules and regulations which may or may not have been violated by the young girl, Elthin decided it was time to get the truth out now rather than let this evolve into a full on legal bartering. The explanation of the girl 'dropping' something caught her attention as well as that of her Brother's.

As soon as the panties were bought out, Elthin felt something like a gust of wind just blast against his body as the panties disappeared from his grasp. There was yet another moment of extrasensory feeling, this time with a slight colour tinge to the edges of his vision, which happened so fast it might just have been the neon lights surrounding the area reflecting into his field of view. All he saw next was the girl's brother looking a little confused, and the girl herself, with her back to Elthin, pulling something up her legs with such speed that there was barely any movement from her skirt, even as her hands went underneath to place her panties back where they belonged. She was certainly a rather speedy girl, even more so than anyone Elthin had ever met before. That was a little odd, to say the least...

"Okay...guess that solves that problem." The girl's brother commented, sounding a little perplexed. "Anyway, not a word of what she did to anyone. It stays between us three only, got it? In exchange, I won't tell anyone that a full grown man just casually picked up a pair of children's underwear off the floor in a secluded alleyway and placed them in his pocket. If anyone else heard of it, we could all be in serious trouble, so I find that a fair deal."

"Was it...cute?" The girl asked as she turned to face Elthin, a shy blush gently turning her face a light shade of pink. She couldn't meet Elthin's gaze. "My...secret place?"

How forward of her!

"Do you want to get him arrested?!" The girl's Brother exclaimed, shocked by her sudden lewd request. He then turned back to Elthin. "Please don't feel obligated to answer that question."

This girl definitely reminded Elthin of someone else, strange behaviour and unnatural powers included. She couldn't be...

Elthin felt a gust of wind touch his body as his vision once more. Had a slight color tinge to it once again then it was all over as the girl quickly pulled up her panties. While her brother spoke to him once again.

"No one will know of what happened just make sure she doesn't do something like this again." Elthin told him. This was already turning into a big deal anyway next the girl asked Elthin a very odd yet lewd question one he never thought would be asked. Apart of him would have gladly have said yes but with her brother around that wouldn't be the right thing to say,

Yet the blush on his cheeks told the true answer that it indeed was cute. The girl also reminded Elthin of someone else but he couldn't think of who at the moment. "If you will excuse me." Elthin turned and hurried away from the girl and her brother. Things would have turned worse quickly if he remained there any longer.

Heading back in the direction of where he was told to go Elthin soon arrived at the Mine after hurrying along trying to make up for lost time.

Tactically retreating from a jail sentence, Elthin excused himself from the unusual duo and hurried on towards the Mine. Thankfully, neither of them saw it important to chase him, yet the girl did kind of catch on to Elthin's more subtle hints that he did, indeed, enjoy the view wholeheartedly.

Next thing he knew, he felt the wind pick up slightly around him. It wasn't at a level which was abnormal, normally, as it was just a light increase in the breeze, but the area it was sectioned on was him and him alone. Nothing around him moved in this strange breeze, but he was certain he felt it on him, and a presence somewhere in it as well. It wasn't malicious at all, but rather felt very comforting and, surprisingly, upbeat as well. Almost like the wind was echoing a cheerful emotion.

Pushing aside random bouts of magical wind, Elthin soon arrived at the mine. Just as Willow had informed him, it was incredibly easy to find as he just followed the warning signs. The mine itself was very unremarkable in appearance. It was little more than an opening in the mountainside with a few lights and warning signs outside of it. In addition, there was a more recent sign indicating the appearance of an 'Unknown entrance of Magical Origin', which was likely referring to the Door Duke Trent was talking about. There was no real prevention against seeing it, the sign was more like an informant of an attraction rather than one of forbiddence. However, just out of caution, Elthin sent a little more power into the shield he normally has around him, just in case debris became dislodged while he was exploring.

Heading on into the mine, using both magic and natural means of light, Elthin began following the shaft deep into the mountainside. As soon as he entered the shaft, he instantly felt the undeniable tingle of strong magical energy filling the place. As expected, it was more attuned to the powers of Fire rather than any other magic. Using the knowledge he had about Magical Energy signature, Elthin deduced that this was a Amplification Field attuned to Fire. This, naturally, meant that all Magicians blessed by the Flames of Rebirth (namely Fire Magicians or those born under the Sign of the Fire Prime God) would feel energised and empowered by this Field. However, like all opposing Elements, those blessed by the Winds of Purity (namely, Wind Magicians and those born under the Sign of the Wind Prime God) would feel weakened and lose some of their Magic Strength. It was an age old tactic to keep opposing Elements from coming into contact with one another. As Elthin was blessed by the Waters of Virtue, as he's a Water Magician, this Amplification Field neither positively or Negatively effected him.

Elthin continued on into the Shaft until he reached a fork in the road, where the shaft split into two separate directions. The corridor on the right looked recently mined, likely a replacement for the one ending in the Door, so Elthin took the left hand path, following the increasingly potent Amplification Field's origin. He was likely getting close now, as the strength of the Field attested to that.

Eventually, after about two more minutes of following the linear shaft, Elthin reached a clearing. At the far end of the clearing stood the very thing he was looking for! It was just how Duke Trent had described it, a large stone door, with no indication of a handle, engraved with the sigil of the Prime God of Fire! Despite the thrill of finding the entrance to unexplored Ruins, Elthin also felt another Magical Presence in the same clearing. Locating its source, Elthin found that it came from a rather tattered looking leather-bound book resting on the floor near one of the sconces. The book didn't look like anything from the modern era, considering how archaic its design was. It was a miracle that no one else had found it. Something about it just drew his attention, and he felt like it was more than it appeared to be...

As Elthin had moved away from the pair he once again felt the wind. Touch his skin he felt it was a cheerful yet upbeat emotion to it. Maybe the girl from before had caused it she did remind Elthin of how Coral acted a little bit but why would this young girl be interested in him. It had to surely be more then just him having seen her special place after all.

Soon enough Elthin reached the Mine and traveled inside. Forming a barrier around himself he looked around and moved slowly doing his best to keep an eye out. For anything that might either be a trap or just a random item that could have been used as a spoon. As he moved deeper into the mountain side he felt the strong magical energy filling the place. There seemed to be some sort of Amplification Field in place which was under the Fire style of magic, Still moving on and passing a fork in the road Elthin soon reached the door.

As he looked upon the large door seeing the sigil of the Fire God upon it. He thought that it might of been better to have brought Lucine along. If the door could only be opened by fire magic she might have been able to open it as Elthin was out of luck there. Still looking at the door he walked closer using his eyes to look across it's surface searching for any sort of writing on it maybe one had to solve a riddle to open the door.

In his search he also found another magical aura this belonging to a rather old book. Walking over to it he reached down and picked it up. Opening the book he flipped through a few pages to see what was inside.

Once Elthin reached the clearing, he first searched the door for any signs of how it might open, or any hints in the ancient script etched onto the frame of the door. Like before, the door had absolutely no indication that there was any keyhole, button press or any other form of regular means of opening such an invention. It was almost as if the door itself was nothing more than part of the mountainside which just happened to have some kind of Religious motifs on. He couldn't read any of the text etched into the frame as it was written in such an ancient language, using a style of writing which just didn't make sense to any regular person. Perhaps there was a means of getting the etchings to make sense?

Momentarily giving up on the immovable door, Elthin headed over to the Book he'd spotted earlier. When Elthin touched it, he could immediately sense that it was no ordinary object of literature. The object itself seemed to carry a style of magic which nobody in the present Magical Circles could even begin to recreate. It somewhat felt like the sort of power used by the Old Argentian Duchy to bind human souls to objects, but this one felt more like a willing bind rather than a forced one, like the person in question had chosen that particular object to be their vessel.

Elthin went to open the book, his curiosity piqued by the unusual item, but found that it was a locked book. Judging by the lock on the front, and the kind of feel the book had, this was likely a diary of some sort from ages past. Elthin began to examine the diary even closer, his hands deftly moving across the tome, unconsciously entering the grooves and folds of the pages visible at the base of the book. When one of his fingers brushed across the location where the spine of the diary met the base, he was certain he heard something akin to a rather girly moan come from somewhere in the clearing. It didn't sound like one of sorrow or the kind expected from invisible entities, but rather one like a surprised murmur of pleasure from skillful touching. Elthin tried to recreate the same action he did before, and now the sound was a little more pronounced. It came from just short of five feet away from him.

"H-hey! W-watch where you're touching!" A girl's voice came from the same place he heard the moan from. "Do you always do that to every girl you meet?!"

The entity had yet to show itself, but now Elthin had a location as to where it might be.

Elthin was unable to read the writing on the door as it was in some form. Of ancient writing that he didn't understand so, he turned his attention away. From the door for right now and instead to the book he had picked up. He felt the book carried an old style of magic almost like the book was binding someone or something too it. As he tried to open the book he found that he couldn't from the lock on the front.

As he examined it more closely he fingers brushed along the spine of the book. Suddenly he heard some sort of moan come from somewhere. Looking around he didn't see anyone else with him so he used his finger to touch the spine, again and again, The moan sounded like one of pleasure from his skilled touch and appeared to come from five feet away from him.

"No, but it's not every day I hear a moan coming from a book." looking towards the door he was sure whoever was speaking to him was behind the door, "Who are you and can you show yourself to me?"

Elthin, perplexed by the ethereal entity that had reacted to him touching the book, asked it to show itself.

"I'm right in front of you, genius!" The voice answered, sounding a little annoyed by Elthin's lack of delicacy. "Look a little harder rather than touching me."

Elthin couldn't quite understand what was happening, but still decided to focus on the one space the voice originated from, sensing the presence by following its life signature rather than using vision. A rather blurry looking humanoid shaped figure in white began to materialise into view. Elthin focused harder, using the outline he'd managed to pull into view to shape the figure in the material plane. A few moments of careful concentration later, and the owner of the mysterious voice was visible.

Unsurprisingly, it was a young girl who looked around fourteen years of age. She was a little under five feet tall and was attractively slender, with small curves of budding womanhood in just the right places. She had a rather unusual pale platinum hair colour and storm grey eyes. Her accent from before, and visuals from now, looked very out of place amongst the usual denizens of Argenta. She clearly did not come from this area. Her skin was a gentle shade of peach, with a slight pale brown tint to it from what one would believe to be a tan, likely recently gained, from travelling around Argenta. In contrast to her tan, she had a pale white dress on which reached down to just above the middle of her thighs, and a set of white sandals unlike the kind sold in the current market. The dress was further punctuated from her skin by small tanlines between the clothing and her body. She was, undoubtedly, quite attractive for one so young.

The young girl's lips were curved in a pout and her face was a slight shade of pink from blushing.

"Quit staring so much. You're creeping me out." The girl instructed Elthin.

The voice spoke to Elthin once more. So, following its advice he focused on one spot where the voice was coming from; A blurry humanoid shape began to form before him until that of a young girl now stood before him.

It was a cute looking girl on Elthin's part with platinum hair and storm grey eyes. She didn't look like someone from Argenta at all, His eyes lingered on the girl for a while taking in all the shapes and sizes she was rather cute for her age. Elthin thought of how a girl like her was in a place like this.

"It's not everyday that someone appears out of thin air before me let alone from a book no less." Elthin said.

He looked down at the book again then back at her.

"Who, are you anyway I'm Elthin."

Elthin hungrily eyed up the girl that appeared from seemingly nowhere, his gaze as piercing as a Crocodile leering at its dinner. This, in turn, fully justified the girl's request for him to stop staring like a creeper. Elthin attempted to rationalise his actions by stating that it was an unusual occurrence, which is what caused him to stare.

"Well, you've obviously never travelled, then." The girl countered as she turned away from him and faced the door, a slight hint of sarcasm in her tone from Elthin's stating of the obvious.

Elthin then introduced himself and asked the girl to do the same.

"First you feel me up, and then you ask my name?" The girl questioned, acting all hurt and insulted. "Times truly have changed if that's the norm now. Anyway, I don't really remember my name."

The girl wandered a little closer towards the door.

"I've taken to calling myself Tonerrith. But, considering your attention seems kind of short as you spent most of your introduction staring at my chest and hips, you can call me Tone(*)." Tone continued. " 'Tonerrith' means 'Little Book' in what you'd likely call the Old Tongue."

Tone began to examine the door Elthin was looking at earlier, her head gently following the flowing script around the frame of the door, apparently comprehending the language that covered the surface. She only stopped when a near imperceptible shiver coursed over her body. Elthin only noticed it as he was intently staring at the curves on her.

"So, what brings you here? You don't look much like a miner." Tone asked Elthin, turning slightly to face him. "Plus, you don't really feel like a follower of Ignesis. Did you come here to play with lil' ol' me?" She playfully added on to the end of her strange question.

Then, it suddenly struck Elthin just what Tone had said. From studying translated ancient scriptures, Elthin recognised the name that she had said. Ignesis was the name the Old Races gave to the Prime God of Fire! However, no one has ever uttered the true names of the Prime Gods since before the Great War. Could Elthin just have stumbled on a relic beyond imagining in the form of a strikingly beautiful young maiden?!

"I travel a lot." Elthin replied.

The girl didn't seem to remember her name even acting insulted with what he had tried to do. "Is that how it is are you going to blame me too for how you fell into this mess?" Elthin countered.

The girl moved towards the door she began to examine the door and told him a name he could call her. He sighed as he saw her shiver "I'm here, because I'd like to get through this door. To see what's on the other side." Elthin stated. He looked at the door and away from Tone 'I've already got enough fans in my life wanting my attention." not wanting to fall for her trap.

As he moved closer to the door the scriptures were indeed of Ignesis. He wasn't sure on what he might of found. But a young girl like Tone was sure to cause no end of questions and problems for him.

Elthin, once more, stated the obvious with his answer to why he'd come to such a place.

"Well, open it then." Tone casually countered. "That is, unless..."

Tone then turned to Elthin as a smug smile crossed her face.

"You don't know how to open something so simple as a door." Tone finished with a slight chuckle. "Here I was thinking you were a Magician of high calibre."

Tone paced across the clearing towards a small natural fountain in one of the mine walls. She took a moment to brush her hair into place using her reflection as guidance.

"It's so simple even a child has done it before." Tone continued. "Did you even pay attention in the Dominant and Submissive elements explanations?"

Tone returned to the centre of the clearing and looked back at the door, adjusting her standing position to one with slightly crossed, yet still relaxed, legs.

"The Door is to a Shrine of Ignesis, which is obviously the Prime God of Fire. Out of the three remaining sanctioned Elements, which Element bests fire? All you need to do is create a focused blast of that Element and send it crashing into the door. You'd likely trigger whatever safety Wards were put into place on the door to prevent forced access but, after the centuries it has been since the Wards were last refreshed, the effect of it would likely be so minor it's comical."

She turned back to Elthin and gave a rather snide remark.

"Did I dumb that down enough for you, or do I have to break out the picture books?"

"Why, should I do it when you can do it for me I think someone as high and mighty as you could open it in a second?" Elthin said back. Tone seemed to know he couldn't open the door at all. As she moved towards a small fountain. Elthin with the book still in his hand rose it again looking at it. Turning it over he gave it a smack on the back where her butt would be or so he hoped.

"No wonder you've never had a boy friend who could ever stand someone like you."

Tone explained what Elthin needed to do to enter the door. It seemed that Water bests fire and that was needed to open the door. Just form a focused blast and sent it crashing into the door. "What are these Wards?" Elthin asked. He looked at the door waiting to see what she would say on that getting no answer. Elthin summoned forth a blast of pure water sending it flying at the door. The water did indeed strike the door. And whatever Wards on the door were indeed activated. The blast of water shot back at Elthin. Instead of knowing him to the ground the water did something else to him.

Elthin slowly began to shrink in size and his appearance. Began to change as well to that of a much younger looking person. Crying out the water glowed a cold blue color filled the room with a blinding white light. Seconds seemed to pass and the light and water around Elthin vanished in his place a strange sight was seen.

Where Elthin stood wasn't Elthin infact it was a rather young female of about 11 years of age. She had long silver hair and crystal blue eyes. Her skin was as white as snow the girl was flat chested like any other girl her age. A small patch of silver hair could be seen just around crotch level. The girl was the perfect image of pure beauty but why was she standing in the middle of the room naked and where was Elthin?

Elthin retorted back against Tone's snide comment and decided to use the magical link between Tone's body and the Book in his hands to exact his revenge. He turned the book over and slapped it hard near the bottom of the back cover of the book, close to where the rear end would be in anatomy. The link carried on through and Tone suddenly jerked upwards from her self maintenance, let out a small yelp of pain and shock, and clutched at her rear. Knowing exactly who could've done that, Tone glared back at Elthin, still covering her buttocks, and retaliated against his interpretation of Tone's relationship status.

"Coming from a total Virgin like you, that's quite hypocritical." Tone countered tersely. "It's not like you could ever get bedded with a woman based on how you're acting. Jealous, much? I'm clearly way out of your league. You're just sour that I wouldn't even consider you as a partner."

Elthin turned the conversation back to the wards on the door. Because she was still rather angry with Elthin, Tone gave a roundabout answer in relation to the wards.

"Why don't you blast it and find out? Any decent Magician worth their title could shield against the Wards if they knew what was coming." Tone replied, waiting until Elthin readied a blast before giving a further answer. "They'll likely be Bale-"

Too late, Elthin had already shot at the door. The Wards triggered and blasted back a counter-spell at the assault, which struck Elthin clear in the chest. The door creaked open, but then the room was filled with a blinding white light, just as Tone fired off another degrading remark.

"Wow, what an idiot. If you become a blobfish, at least your body would match your intelligence."

When the light faded, Elthin was replaced by a naked little girl, which caused no end of amusement for Tone.

"Awww, how cute. A wittle girl got lost in the mines." Tone chided the minor that now stood in Elthin's place, using a sarcastic condescending voice to do so. "Go run along home, now. This is no place for the vertically challenged."

The room suddenly looked a lot bigger then Elthin had remembered it. And it also felt offerly cold all of a sudden looking down at himself. He found that he wasn't a he any longer but in fact a she and naked to out a scream she fell to the floor in shock looking down at her arms and legs they all appeared feminie looking.

"W-what happened to me?" Elthin asked.

Instead of his usual voice a small female voice spoke in it's place. Seeing that Tone appeared to have known he was now a girl Elthin not really knowing what else to do. And feeling angry at both her and himself for getting into this message. Looked at the book on the ground he smacked her on the bottom once more. Then looked around for his clothes not being able to find them anywhere and only finding an old white cloak Elthin grabbed it and wrapped it around his body.

The cloak was fairly short only reaching to mid-thigh. She hurried out of the Mine on her short legs wanting to return to Duke Trent's and also taking the book with her.

Elthin, lost and confused from the sudden gender reversal, asked the age-old confusion question.

"You blasted a Warded door and got blasted back." Tone stated matter of factly. "If you had let me explain, you would have known that it was a Baleful Polymorph Ward placed on the door. You should count yourself lucky that it only turned you into your mental age rather than a blobfish. Baleful Polymorphs are spells which are reserved for the people you really hate and want to screw over. Understand what I'm saying, Effina?"

Elthin (now dubbed Effina by Tone) slapped the back of the book once more in anger, which resulted in the same kind of response for the being bound to the Book.

"Just because you're a girl now, that doesn't mean you can get away with Sexual harassment, you deviant!" Tone shot back angrily as Effina rushed out of the mine, using an old soot rag as clothing.

She attempted to sprint all the way back to Duke Trent's place, but her new form made that quite difficult. Not to mention how Tone always managed to appear near the Book, regardless of what Effina tried to do.

"You know, you can make clothing out of your Magic." Tone informed Effina. "Anything's better than a dirty old soot rag."

Effina stopped in her tracks as she was rushing out of the mine.

Tone began to explain what happened to her. "But why am I a girl then wouldn't those Words have done something else instead of this?" Effina asked.

Effina walked back towards the mine door knowing she was forgetting to do. The one thing she set out to do was find out what was behind the door. She arrived back in the empty chamber and heard Tone mention she could create clothes out of magic. While Effina knew this herself she wasn't sure on what sort of clothes to make for herself. Thinking that Tone was right and actual clothes were better then a dirty old rag. Effina used her magic to form a set of clothes to wear for herself.

A small snow white vest formed to cover up her flat chest along with a pair of small snow white panties. Were used to cover up her crotch area they had small ties on the sides which could. Easily be used by someone to untie them if they so wished. Normally a girl wouldn't wear something like that. But Elthin's lewd thoughts for the younger class most have formed those on herself.

Next a short sleeved blue silk blouse to match the color of her eyes. A short white pleated skirt formed around her waist and reached to about mid-thigh, A black belt was used to keep her skirt in place covering her feet with a pair of black trainers with small white socks,

Effina asked about the background of Baleful Polymorph Wards. However, rather than give a straight answer, Tone just acted off of what Effina had insinuated earlier.

"Why ask me when you, yourself, said that no one could stand being around me?" Tone questioned. "Just figure it out yourself, if you're smart enough to. After all, you don't want to be around someone as insufferable as me, do you?"

Tone headed on over to the Natural fountain and took a seat on the floor next to it.

"Put the book down and go on inside if you think you're 'amazing' enough to survive in there by yourself in the form of a little girl." Tone suggested to Effina. "If you're not out in a few hours, well...guess you just couldn't cut it."

Tone didn't give her the answer that she wanted instead acted. On how Effina had insinuated earlier as she sat down near the fountain.

"I have no choice but to ask you seeing as no one else is around." Effina countered she had now reached the door seeing how it was open. "Lose the attitude problem and perhaps I might want to be around you."

Tone the said that the book should be sent down and for Effina to venture inside the room alone. "You're coming with me, into those ruins and that's final.' Effina ran her fingers over the surface of the book ever so lightly until the reached the area between her legs which was the bottom of the book. "I never knew touching a book could be so much fun,"

She headed through the door.

"The only problem I have at the moment is a bigoted midget 'Magician' who can't even tell when a door is Warded or not." Tone retaliated. "I think the perfect cure for that problem is a little thing called 'Natural Selection'. Guess I'll have to wait it out until Evolution comes knocking on your head and finally gifts you with Common Sense."

Effina, partially blaming Tone for her current predicament, forced the Book-Bound entity to comply through some gentle 'nudges' in the right places. Tone's body locked up as Effina's fingers went about the work, the enslaved girl gently moaning and gasping as Effina's fingers touched the sensitive parts of her. The girl herself, despite how her body was enjoying it, despised Effina for her abusive, sex-driven, forceful commands, and made that known by a glare to surpass both Lucine and Naru's combined glares. It was probably not a good idea to test the limits with Tone, as Effina still had no idea what the girl was, or even what she was capable of.

"Keep that up and you might lose your fingers. Books bite." Tone cautioned Effina, evidently not joking around.

Forced into servitude as Effina still held on to the Book, Tone followed the small, yet largely annoying, girl into the darkened corridor behind the door...

From as soon as Effina entered, she could feel the magnitude of Fire Amplification in this place. This was on a level above that felt anywhere else in the Mines. She could feel her powers being weakened slightly, even though Water was the Dominant Element over Fire. Any water based thing she creates in the place is sure to fade very quickly.

The corridor the two found themselves in was completely pitch black, save for a pulsating red light at the other end of the corridor. Looking over at the source, another Sigil of Ignesis was etched into a large set of double doors. They were likely in the entrance hall to a much larger complex at this moment in time.

"Stay sharp. You don't know what kind of defences the previous occupants may have left in place." Tone warned Effina.

For a few moments Effina wished she could cast fire magic as she'd burn the book. To a crisp to finally silence the annoying voice of Tone and end her whining. Then gave her a glare after the lewd touching had ended. "If you were perhaps nicer to me and not always trying to get in the last word known of this would be happening to you." Effina countered.

As soon as she passed through the door she could feel the Fire Amplification. Her current powers felt like a shadow of their former power. They found themselves in a pitch black corridor that had a glowing red light at the other end. Walking forward she kept her eyes and ears alert for anything that might be a trap.

"Who built this place and what did they use it for?"

"If you were perhaps _less of a perverted person,_ I wouldn't have to waste my breath telling you this." Tone retorted.

The pair entered the hallway behind the door and Effina took the lead towards the only other exit they could see, remaining vigilante for any traps or hostile entities.

"If you were listening earlier, you would know." Tone sighed in exasperation at Effina's pointless question. "This place is a Shrine to the Prime God of Fire, Ignesis. Logically, that would mean that it was built by followers of Ignesis, wouldn't it?

"Shrines to Deities are commonly built as a place for followers to worship the Deity in, while also providing protection and sanctuary to any travellers seeking refuge. They could also be used to house powerful relics of that particular Prime God, though those things would be guarded tighter than even the Mainland is. In short, simple terms, they are buildings of religious significance which may also serve as places of protection for people and Sacred Relics alike."

Effina reached the door on the other end of the hall without incident. Like the door before, this one also had no indication of a place which could be used as a handle or device to open the door.

"Just a word of warning, it's not wise to blast things aimlessly with your Water Magic in a place like this. It may be counted as a Desecration of the Shrine, which could draw you some rather unwanted attention. However, you should know that without me even telling you." Tone cautioned Effina.

Before the change and all the small children running around in her life. Effina had not really been that perverted of a person. But over time and all the lewd situations she had been finding herself in lately had awakened a side of her that she had never known before. Maybe Effina really was a pervert.

"Sorry, for going off on you like that I guess I really am a pervert." Effina said.

"I know that seeing the symbols of Ignesis here and there, Surely those who built it wanted it more to be then a place of worship?" Effina asked and hearing what Tone said also added answers to what she had just asked so her question had already been answered for her, "Do, you know if this place houses any Sacred Relics?"

They reached another door which was much like the one they had passed through before. However as Effina looked at the door and Tone cautioned her on what not to do. Effina felt something strange going on inside of her something that she normally was used to as a man. But now being a female she wasn't sure on how to handle it. What Effina was needing to do was to go to the bathroom.

'If it takes water to open this door I could try touching it with a water fist. But with all this heat I might not get the chance."

For some strange reason, Effina apologised and admitted to being a pervert. Tone wasn't really sure how to take such an open acceptance of her chastising.

"Maybe you are. Just try not to do it too much." Tone simply answered, completely unsure of just what to do.

Effina then asked if this Ruin could have been more than just a place of worship. However, Tone already partially answered that earlier. Following on from that, Effina questioned if this Ruin in particular housed a relic of importance.

"Couldn't be too sure, to be honest. Although, I'm certain you'll still turn the place upside down just to see if there is one." Tone replied. "If there is, it'd be in the most guarded area of the Shrine, or a place which has a direct link to the Deity of the Shrine, like and Altar, Sacred Statue, Blessed Pool or embodiment of the Element."

Upon reaching the door, Effina felt a growing need in her lower regions. One which she was knowledgeable about back when she was still in her natural form, but, alas, hadn't the slightest inkling as to what needs to be done in her current form. Trying to take her mind off her need, Effina suggested a means of opening the door which now stood in their way.

"Do modern Magicians always think Magic is the answer to everything?" Tone queried, sounding a little disapproving of the idea that Magic is a commodity to be used regardless of the situation. "Just try opening it normally first. Use a simple touch or push, like you would any normal door. And, I think you mean the Amplification Field is sapping your power, not the heat. It's relatively mild in here, in my opinion."

"Do, you know how big or how many rooms are located within this shrine?" Effina asked.

Following Tone's advice she gave the door a simple push to see if it would open. Then stepped out of the way just in case any sort of magical backlash would happen. Sure she had not cast anything on the door yet but Effina wasn't going to be taking chances with it again.

As they waited on the door the growing need in her lower regions. Once more showed itself this time again by sending signals. She still needed to go and go fairly soon Effina was in trouble with still not knowing how a female normally handles this type of thing. She could do what the green-haired girl did but no Effina was already in enough trouble with Tone as it was. She wasn't about to add anything more to the list.

So she just shifted her feet a little and tried to think of something else.

"How long have you been guarding these ruins for?"

Effina asked how big the ruins were.

"Beats me. I haven't the slightest clue." Tone simply shrugged. "Whatever made you think I'd know?"

Tone's question was answered through Effina's next question. But first, Effina had to act upon the growing need in her bladder and ended up dancing on the spot a little as the doors remained motionless. Effina's push probably wasn't strong enough to open them. Tone pushed on the emblem in the middle of the door, which caused the entire barrier to surge with red light as the doors began to open, revealing a large chamber which neither girl could fully comprehend what was in it due to how dark it was.

"Gotta push the symbol, not the door itself. Did you really think your tiny arms could push open two huge stone doors, which likely weigh tonnes?" Tone informed Effina, noticing her movements. "Are you seriously that excited to go exploring these dusty ruins that you can't stand still. What a child..."

Thinking a little more on it, Tone came to a different conclusion and a devious grin began to form on her face.

"I think I know why you're so antsy~." Tone commented, a sing-song tone in her voice. "Little girl needs the potty, am I right? Is all this water making you need to tinkle, little girl?"

Jokes about bodily needs aside, Tone answered Effina's next question, which came just as the doors fully opened.

"Do I look like a Guardian to you?" Tone questioned. "Wow, some Ruins Raider you are if you don't even know what a Guardian looks like. Even the Magi-tech guys at Argenta know what a Guardian looks like, and even remodelled one of their Sentinels after them. I'll have you know I'm an Elemental Spirit, not a Guardian."

"Seeing as how you must have been here for sometime right?"

Tone was the one to open the doors as Effina wasn't strong enough to do so. She was also able pick up on what Effina needed to take care of. Just hearing the mention of water caused Effina to dance around on the spot again. She blushed in shame but said nothing back as she couldn't think of a counter attack.

"You seriously need to stop acting all high and mighty." Effina said. Finally regaining some control over herself she entered into the large room making her way along the right side feeling along the wall with her hand.

"How old do you think I am?!" Tone questioned Effina after her assumption at her age. "I've only been in Argenta for a little over a week. I'm just way more learned on the ways these 'Ruins' are set up compared to you, who's acting just like a small child going on a make-believe adventure into the unknown."

Despite Effina's lack of vocalisation of her needs, Tone still picked up on the truth of the matter from how Effina had blushed at the remark. Effina stayed silent for a moment before finally countering the comment.

"And you seriously need to act a little more mature. If you did, I wouldn't have to take on that role. You should've gone before you came out." Tone retaliated. "Now, your best hope is that we find whatever they used as a toilet in these ruins before you end up mixing conflicting elements and calling on the wrath of Ignesis."

Like normal, when the doors opened enough to fit through, Effina leaped before she looked and began to feel her way around the darkened room, oblivious of whatever dangers may lurk in the shadows.

"Illuminate!" Tone called out from her position still in the hallway. At the completion of her command, the sconces on the walls and pillars flared into life, bathing the once darkened room in glorious light. Just in time, as the next step Effina would've taken would have been into a broken bit of flooring, which was nothing more than a large hole leading down into some kind of storage space beneath the main hall. The fall wouldn't have been fatal, but it sure would have hurt a great deal.

From what Effina could make out looking at the flooring, the space was filled with red and white marble tiles on the flooring. A proper look round should be at the top of her priorities once Tone rejoined her moments later.

"Always try lighting up a place before stepping into the darkness. Otherwise, I may have to be peeling you off of the floor." Tone reminded Effina. "Really, what would you do without me here?"

"You say you've only been here for a week and yet here you are trapped in a book." Effina sighed.

Tone spoke more about the one thing that Effina needed to take care of.

"Look who's talking miss trapped in a book!" Effina countered. With the way that Tone was she began to think of the perfect way to get back at her if things. Were going to get worse between the two Effina would just go to the bathroom on the book. Sure she didn't want to ruin it as doing so would totally screw things up but seeing the look on the girl's face would be priceless.

The room she had entered lite up to reveal a large hole in the ground. That she would have nearly fallen into if it weren't for Tone's quick thinking.

Again Effina ignored her.

Effina apparently couldn't grasp the concept of Elemental Spirits and their vessels.

"Did you flunk Magician School so badly that you don't even understand what Vessels are?" Tone countered. "If you paid attention at Magician School then you'd know that Elemental Spirits choose their Vessels. They aren't trapped in them at all. The Book acts as my body when my old Physical Shell is no longer serviceable, so, technically speaking, saying I'm trapped in the Book is like saying Humans are trapped in their bodies. I chose the Book for reasons I can't remember, but I know that I chose it for some really important reason. Granted, I can't be too far away from the Book, but, if it leaves a certain range, I automatically appear near it, as you saw."

"Anyway," Tone continued. "I can see five exits to this room, but three of them are blocked by either rubble or poor construction stability. The only two usable exits are one near the right hand side of the Main Altar, just down this stretch of room, and one on the left hand side of the room in the middle of the wall, directly to our left. Which one should we take, oh experienced Archaeologist?"

Effina didn't even reply back to anything that Tone had said.

She looked around the room finding five exits seeing that three of them were blocked. Leaving only two of which to choose a route to go by. Effina kneeled on the ground deciding to try a simple trick that might let her guess which way was the right way. Creating a small stream of water on the ground and knowing she didn't have. Much time until it burned out due to the heat she sent the stream of water to the left and right along side the floor.

Making sure to watch each direction carefully in case any sort of traps might activate.

Yet again, Effina ignored the words of caution coming from Tone and attempted to do the biggest, most dangerous thing she could do, which was mixing conflicting Elements in the Sanctuary to a Prime God. The effect kicked off, giving little indication of Traps in the vicinity as it evaporated before even moving more than a few centimetres from Effina's hand.

"What are you thinking, you idiot?!" Tone exclaimed as she dived towards Effina, taking the small girl in her arms as she tumbled way from the place they were in.

No sooner than Tone pulled Effina away did a huge plume of Flame Spears blast out of the floor where Effina once stood. Judging by the number, and the blazing heat of them, Effina would've been little more than charred kebabs if she remained where she was. The volley of shaped superheated flame magic subsided after around fifty spears had blasted the square the Water Magic touched.

"You're such an idiot! Didn't you listen to a word I said?!" Tone continued, sounding just as concerned as she did angry. "NEVER mix conflicting Elements in Temples to the Prime Gods! It's counted as a personal attack against the Deity themselves!"

From Tone's actions, it was highly likely that she cared for Effina enough to help prevent anything bad from happening to her, but didn't do much in the way of showing her concern aside from snide remarks and frequent warnings.

"Items designed for holding water, like jugs, cups and other vessels for transporting liquids, will not trigger the Consecration Magic when filled, but, if water magic touches anywhere else in this place, you've seen first hand what happens." Tone explained as she got up off the floor. "Have I made myself clear, or do I need to bash it into your head that mixing water and fire in this place is severe desecration to the Shrine itself?"

Effina had finally had enough of Tone after picking herself up off the ground.

"Just shut up!" Effina snapped.

It was her fault for what had just happened but with Tone's rude remarks and always belittling her; She couldn't take anymore of it at all.

"I'm tired of all your damn crap, you might indeed be helpful with your knowledge of this place, But all you've done is belittle me with every chance you've got. That's all you seem good for is looking down on everyone around you so I'm done with you." Effina still kept the book on her person knowing Duke Trent would want to see it.

But from now on she would no longer say or even look at Tone. That last thing she did was create a jug out of magic and went poured some water into it using her own magic. She went to the right side looking around carefully and testing her footing on the floor. Spotting a small pebble near her she picked it up and rolled it along the floor in front of her with a small toss.

Effina demanded to be left alone by Tone, who was more than happy to comply after answering with her own choice words.

"That's because you're so much of a fucking idiot who thinks you know everything! Time and again I've tried to drill into your shit for brains things to help you stay alive, but all you've done is fucking ignored every damn word I've said! I'm through with wasting my breath on an inbred fuckwit like you!" Tone shot back, actually sounding angry this time. "Let's see how far the 'Genius' explorer can get in this place by her little lonesome. I'm done with this shit!"

Tone jetted off back within the book and everything fell silent once more. Probably not the best way to go about things.

Effina was now all alone in the Ruins, with a silent and seething angry Elemental Spirit residing in the book she has held on to. Tone likely wasn't coming out again unless Effina really worked on her begging and pleading skills. However, the Spirit was no doubt watching every action Effina made and judging them.

Still hooked on the idea that they'd be traps in this place, Effina slowly made her way along the right hand side of the room, using a pebble as a trigger for any motion sensitive traps. However, it wasn't heavy enough to trigger any pressure sensitive traps, if there were any.

Thankfully, Effina made it to the front of the Entrance hall with no incident, though she did have to quickly right her footing as part of the floor gave way as she was walking along. So far so good. She was now in front of one of the two usable exits to the room. Will she take it?

The creation of the jug wasn't able to happen like Effina had wanted it to. She was also happy to finally have some peace and quiet with Tone going back into her book. She had made her way across the room righting her footing as part of the floor gave way. Looking around she noticed one of the two exits in the room. Taking a moment she looked around the room slowly looking for anything out of place.

Second she looked to see if the room ahead was dark and if there were any torches. Along the walls that could be taken down. And used as a light for when going deeper into the ruins. Effina then took the exit to the room.

When she reached the north-eastern exit, Effina looked around to see if she could spot anything out of place. However, it turned out that she didn't have the slightest idea what out of place would be for ruins like this. Everything looked 'Ruin-Like', and that was all she knew. Aside from the deterioration with age, the ruin still looked relatively Shrine-esque.

Giving up on her flawed Archaeological understanding, Effina went to check out the room the exit she was in front of led to, however, it was also blocked by an average, if slightly derelict, wooden door. The door could still be opened as it had no lock on it, but it did stop a casual glance to see what was through it, as doors should.

Opening the door, Effina was met with another slightly shorter hallway leading to a slightly more sturdy door. The only light illuminating the hallway was the dim torchlight from the entrance hall she was currently in. From the flickering faltering light, Effina could make out that there was a rather large break in the hallway where the floor had given way. There was still a stone support beam visible beneath the shattered tiles which could possibly be walked across, if one was careful. She could take this route, if she so wished. From the corner of her eye, Effina spotted an old torch on the floor just inside of the hallway. It was burnt down considerably, but it could still be relit again to offer around an hour or so of light before burning down to nothingness.

Stretching up to dangerous levels for a girl so short and struggling with a pressing need in her bladder, Effina just about manage to relight the torch she found. It sparked to life with a warming amber glow, painting a picture of shadows and dancing lights on the surrounding walls. With illumination finally in her grasp, Effina headed down the hallway towards the door on the other end.

The stretching to reach up to grasp the torch had been a bad idea. As it pressed her need in her bladder a lot more Effina struggled for a few moments trying to hold in all that she had drank wasn't a wise idea to have any sort of accident here in the ruins as she'd be cooked alive by the flames if something like that happened. After relighting the torch and spotting a large stone support beam which she could walk across.

But Effina didn't trust it let alone her own feet walking on it, With her pressing need to go to the bathroom she might of slipped and fallen into the hole. Turning around she walked back towards the door on the other end.

Not trusting her current unsteady state, Effina thought against crossing the singular beam between her current place and the door at the other end of the hallway she was in. The drop wasn't enough to kill or severely wound anyone who fell, but it would certainly still be quite the painful experience and may end up in a puddle on the floor from the impact.

Placing faith in the other route she'd seen, Effina retraced her steps back to the main Entrance Hall and towards the other exit, making sure to keep an eye on the flooring to prevent another near-miss with footing. It was much easier now with a torch close by, but the flames of the portable lighbringer would eventually gutter out in time. With no difficulties, Effina reached the other exit to the main hall and found it overlooked a much larger corridor which could faintly be seen ending in a T-Junction. There were no indications of broken flooring down this hall, so it should be safe to walk.

Doing a quick cursory scan of what she could see, Effina found that there were multiple doors down this corridor going off from both the left and right hand side walls. There were around 3 doors on the left, spaced evenly down the corridor up to the intersection, and two on the right, one at either end of this stretch of corridor. Straining her ears, Effina could very faintly hear what sounded like running water coming from the second door on the left. Remembering what little she listened to of Tone's lectures, Effina understood that, as long as Magical Water is placed into a Non-magical carrier first, it can safely be poured out of the carrier without triggering the consecration effect, as it would not have a magical origin point then. This may come in handy should push come to leak with her current predicament.

Reaching the other end which ended at a T-Junction she looked around to see 3 doors. Spaced evenly down the hallway in front of her. Hearing the sound of running water faintly coming from the second door down. Caused Effina to pause for a bit she pressed a hand into her crotch. It helped stop her need for a moment but not very much. Remembering Tone's lectures about Non-magical carriers and Magical Water. She knew if placed inside one then poured out it wouldn't trigger any of the traps.

Looking around for any sort of item that could be used as a carrier. Effina tried to think of something else to take her mind off her growing need. She drew a blank at first and it wasn't until after a while she began to think about Zena.

Effina, trying to take her attention off of her nagging bladder, looked around the current area to see if she could find any receptacle for carrying water so she could make a deposit to it. Unsurprisingly, there was absolutely no kind of object meant for carrying water left just lying around in this place. Effina would likely have to get exploring to find something like that.

When her previous attempt bore no fruit, Effina began to think about other people and her thoughts landed on the slightly weird little girl that Duke Trent called his Bodyguard and little sister. Zena would no doubt find Effina's current form very strange and may even act a lot differently around a girl her age who wasn't the raging hormone driven Naru. Zena may even open up a little more to Effina, if they got close enough. Still, Zena would have to get over her little problem with sleeping first...

After loitering around for a while thinking about others, Effina finally realised that just standing there wasn't going to get her anywhere at all, and would likely end in a puddle on the floor and a rather scorched Effina. Perhaps she should start exploring the rooms down this hallway first? Running water may indicate just where Effina wishes to be...

Effina hurried down the hallway towards the room with the running water. She turned to the door and pushed against it wanting to get inside. To have a look around both in finding anything that could be used as a carrier along with what was inside the room. She put more strength against the door hoping it would open soon. It was at that moment that she felt the very first leak. Slip into her underwear forming a tiny damp spot on the material.

"Blast it all to hell."

Praying for her salvation to be behind the door with the sound of water, Effina rushed on over to the door and began to try and push it open. The door, being old, was extremely stiff and hard to move. Effina placed all her strength behind her pushing, momentarily ignoring the growing pressure in her bladder, to force the door open. With a loud thunk, the door flew open as Effina fell through, landing face first on the cold stone floor. The shock from the fall startled her bladder, forcing out a spurt which formed a damp spot on the material of her underwear.

Picking herself up from off the floor, coughing a little from the disturbed dust, Effina looked around the room she was in.

From the large open wooden-tiled area with a strange concourse of stone troughs around the outskirts of the room, Effina judged this place to be something along the lines of an old communal washing area, likely used to purify oneself before praying to the Gods. The sound of running water evidently came from the troughs in the room, which had medium sized wooden hand-basins discarded onto the solid parts of the walls to the troughs. Some of the basins were rotted and broken beyond usefulness due to age, but a small few of them had weathered the test of time.

There was also a large multi-storey shelving area close to the door, which Effina had nearly faceplanted in to. On these shelves were old glass bottles caked in layer upon layer of dust. From the looks of the medicinal quality to these bottles, they likely housed aromatic oils and other archaic cleaning tinctures which predated the modern bar of soap.

Effina could only see part of the room from where she knelt, but a full exploration accompanied by the sound of running water may further aggravate her need. She could attempt to use the few remaining complete basins to alleviate her need, but perhaps a more suitable method was in one of the neighbouring rooms?

Strangely, Effina felt Tone's book become slightly warmer and begin to radiate a faint glow. Still unsure of what it might mean, Effina could either question the entity residing in the book, or ignore the strange occurrence and put it down to a trick of the light.

Even more unsettling than a glowing book, Effina felt a strange caress of wind come from behind her. She'd been in this place a while, and she had yet to feel anything like a wind, and the torch, which was remarkably still intact, did not react to any form of air stimulation, even though the ethereal wind would've brushed past it as well. To make matters worse, the unusual wind carried a foreboding feeling that, perhaps, Effina was no longer alone in these uncharted halls...

Effina looked around the room she had just entered. Seeing that it was some sort of washing area used before purifing ones self before a god. Walking into the room slowly she saw several basins that were both rotted and still in working order. She nearly walked into the large storey shelving area that was near the door. Looking at what was on it seeing the old glass bottles Effina looked for a bottle that might be empty.

She was about to hurry and use one of the basins to take care of her need. When she felt Tone's book grow warmer. Looking at this she wasn't sure what it meant "you glow now?" she asked the old dirty book.

Next what was odd she felt the caress of wind come from behind her. Looking at the torch it had not been moved at all. Making her way back outside the room she looked around and listened the any sounds other then the running water.

Effina decided to not try her luck with the basins and instead went to look on the shelves for an empty bottle. However, Effina forget that, due to the dim light and the layers of grime on the bottles, she'd have to look inside each one properly to see if they were empty or not, or spend ages trying to clean them down enough to see.

While debating on which receptacle she should use as a makeshift toilet, Effina noticed Tone's Book glowing and growing faintly warmer. Putting aside her earlier anger, Effina asked the Spirit what was going on.

"Be a little more quiet. We're not alone here anymore." Tone answered from the book. "I'm trying to see if they're ally or enemy. They just entered the ruins moments ago, so they're likely going to try and trace your steps to find you."

Perhaps the wind Effina felt earlier was also signalling this potential intruder. Whatever the case, Effina decided to check the neighbouring rooms for any more signs of places she could go to take care of personal needs. Using the small amount of knowledge she had on ancient architecture, Effina believed that the runoff water from the bathing area would likely go to a place where it could drain away properly to be cleansed and then filtered back to the reservoir which restarted the cycle. Judging by the direction the water was flowing, Effina concluded that the door closest to the entrance hall would likely house the drainage system, as the water ran from the room further down the hall.

Effina went one door down, closer to the main hall than the intersection, and tried the door there. It moved slightly but then stopped, likely stiff from disuse. She could try and force the door open again, being a little more careful this time, or ignore it entirely. However, all the doors in this place would likely be similar in stubbornness.

Instead of ignoring her Tone actually spoke for a change. Telling her that someone had entered the ruins moments ago. Trying to trace the way that Effina had come. Not knowing if it was friend or foe went to check the other rooms for more places to take care of her personal needs. Moving slowly so that she wouldn't make any sort of sounds.

"How far are they from me?" Effina whispered.

As she tried one of the doors closet to the main hall intersection. It moved slightly but then stopped she was given the chance to push harder on the door. But that would surely make noise which was something she didn't want to do. But with her growing need down below she gave in and pushed against the door as hard as she could.

Effina decided to accept the knowledge of Tone for once and questioned just how far away this mysterious intruder was.

"I thought you didn't want my help." Tone countered, still sounding upset and angry at Effina from what happened earlier. However, Tone decided to relent for now. "I only sensed another Entity when they entered the effects of the Sanctification placed on these ruins. Strangely, I can't sense any Magical Signature coming from anyone or anything but us and the ruins. It could be that they're just someone who got lost and wandered in here or..."

The next thing Tone had to say further added to the sense of foreboding.

"They could be a Revenant, an exceptionally powerful Magician who can hide their Signature, or, maybe...just a normal person after all." Tone concluded. "Either way, stay alert and try to keep yourself hidden until we know their motives. I can't pinpoint their location exactly, but they're not close. At least not for now."

Still fixated on her need for relief, Effina threw caution aside and forced open the door she tried earlier. This time, expecting a sudden movement of a dislodged door, Effina was prepared for when it opened and managed to keep her footing. However, the door did utter a rather loud thump as it was moved from its seized position. Thankfully, it likely wasn't loud enough to be heard from anywhere in the ruins except the nearby hallway.

Taking one look in the opened room, Effina had finally found the place she wished to be! Sitting at the far back of the closet-like room was a singular old-fashioned toilet! Granted, it was nothing like the porcelain ones that frequented the more modern facilities. It was as much of a relic as the building itself, being nothing more than several planks of wood spread across a well shaped mass of stone on a raised platform. A very ancient looking toilet, but still a toilet no less. Examining it more closely, Effina determined that the run-off water from the bathing area next door flowed underneath the toilet to carry the waste away to be purified.

She found a toilet at last, but...

Effina ignored the first part of what Tone said. She wasn't about to say she was sorry to her not after the way she had been treated by the book. She thought over the rest of what Tone had just said to her the only people who knew she was here was Duke Trent and maybe the others. "Could it be the green-haired girl?" Effina asked herself not knowing that answer. She didn't want to face someone who could not be read. Not in her current state of being a girl.

Once the door was open Effina closed it behind her not wanting. Whoever was following her to know what room she had entered. After looking around the room she saw as the far back of the room. Was an old-fashioned toilet. Knowing she didn't have much time left she dashed forward towards the throne. Leaking not once but twice more in her hasty movement. Arriving at last she reached under her skirt and pulled off her panties. Sitting on the bowl she let loose the stream into the old toilet.

It would have been better to study it first.

Effina pondered over who may have invaded the ruins while she released a powerful tinkling stream into the ancient commode. The only other people who Effina knew who'd be aware of her current location were the ones back at Duke Trent's residence, and maybe even the Green Haired girl who seemed to have some control over the Wind. Surely, if they knew Effina was here, they'd make their presence known that they were looking for her.

"I thought you would've tried to go while standing, but it seems you know enough about the female anatomy to realise that takes skill when you don't have a penis." Tone cut in. "I'd rather not know how you got that knowledge."

After a short while, Effina finished up without incident. Obviously, a toilet, no matter how old it is, is a place where water of some form goes, so of course it would not trigger the Sanctification. Strangely enough, it felt like this entire room was free from the Sanctification's effects, much like the Bathing Area next door. The Ancient owners of this place must have taken into account that water may end up on the floor in places like these.

Feeling more refreshed and less tense, Effina headed towards the door of the toilet just as a strange dread swept over her. Something wasn't right...

Effina sighed in relif as the stream flowed into the commode. She thought over who could be following her again. Trying to figure out if anyone else knew about the ruins themselves or why someone would be looking for her. Tone then spoke up again to her this time about something she'd rather not talk about.

"Why are you even asking me this in the first place?"

Finishing up with her current need Effina felt more refreshed. As she headed towards the door she felt a strange dread fall over her. Looking around she felt that something really didn't feel quite right.

Effina asked Tone why she was so interested in what knowledge a Male-turned-Female had about the opposite gender's anatomy.

"Just curious, that's all." Tone dismissed the question with an indirect answer.

When Effina was done, she made to head towards the door, but stopped suddenly as a horrible feeling washed over her. She looked around in the toilet she was in, but found little of interest, except the fact that Tone had now left the book and was pulling her underwear down to use the toilet as well. Yellow stripes were a little strange for someone like her, but something about their connotations just fit.

"Forget something? Sorry, but this seat is taken and I'd like it if you left me some privacy." Tone questioned Effina as she followed in the previous girl's footsteps.

So, Elemental Spirits have needs too, it seems.

Effina was still near the door to the room when she had looked around to see. Tone now having left the book and was pulling down her underwear. Appearing to need to take care of the same thing she had needed to do just a moment ago.

"I'm not going out there with whoever it is who's trying to find me. Just hurry and take care 'it' and I'll wait by the door." Effina said blushing a bit.

She turned her back to Tone to give her privacy.

Effina refused to leave the toilet, worried that whomever had entered the ruins was out there and waiting for them.

"Guess that's the best I can get." Tone sighed. "It's partially your own fault for leaving footprints behind in the dust if they've tracked you."

From the soft tinkling sound that came from Tone's location, it seemed she didn't suffer from a shy bladder. However, it was nothing in comparison to the rather loud gushing that came from Effina moments before. After about a quarter of a minute, Tone's tinkling came to an end.

"All done." Tone informed Effina as she returned into the Book. "We can't just stand around here all day or we'll become a part of these ruins ourselves, and I don't really fancy that."

Hearing Tone's tinkle Effina was reminded of the green-haired girl. And the members of her little band who also went through this sort of thing. She blushed at those thoughts and shook her head to rid herself of them.

"Don't start!" Effina warned.

Knowing the Tone was right Effina opened the door a crack and peeked outside. To see if the person or thing was outthere.

Effina lost herself in a moment of lewd perversion as she listened to Tone going about her pee. Her thoughts drifted back to the Green Haired girl and the other young girls whom were a part of her unofficial Harem. Eventually, Effina managed to cut those thoughts out of her mind for now.

Once Tone had finished, Effina cautiously opened the door and peered out to see if anybody was waiting to pounce. From what little view she got, Effina spotted nobody of interest outside of the room from her current perspective. However...

"They won't hide on the angle the door opens at, as that'll be stupid." Tone interjected. "Unless they were complete amateurs at their craft. I doubt they're greenhorns at tracking, despite how little you did to make their job harder."

Effina didn't see anyone outside of the room from the way the door was angled. "Why, not just announce to them that we are hear with your damned chatting." Effina countered. She fully opened the door and stepped outside. Looking around to fully see if anyone was there for several moments before moving back into the room.

She had nearly forgetton the one thing she still needed a device to hold the water. Which would come in handy in case whom was tracking her got close.

Effina was under the impression that Tone could be heard and seen by everyone. However, the Spirit soon corrected this misunderstanding.

"Actually, they'll only hear how much noise you're making." Tone corrected Effina. "Only the one who's holding my Vessel can see and hear me. Anybody else would just see you talking to thin air, which I'm sure they won't think anything of."

Effina decided to brave the world outside of the toilet once more, looking around as much as she could to see whomever might have been tracking them. Try as she might, Effina could find no trace of any movement except her own. Like Tone had stated, if they were attempting to tail someone, they wouldn't make it obvious. Once she was convinced she'd searched as much as she could, Effina headed back into the toilet to look for some kind of container to carry water. Unsurprisingly, the toilet had nothing fitting to this description other than the toilet itself, and, even then, that was little more than a hole over a piping system. She'd probably have better luck searching the bathing area next door for something like that.

Effina found nothing of use which could be used. To hold any sort of water. While Tone spoke up about various stuff again. "Then they are lucky." That being that they wouldn't have to put up with her voice. Effina went into the hall once more and tried the bathing area.

Effina shot back another sharp remark at Tone, who countered with her usual attitude.

"If you're so annoyed at me, then just give me my Book back and I'll leave you alone. That way, you won't be able to see or hear me." Tone suggested. "Best for both of us, then. I wouldn't have to put up with your complete lack of common sense, and you wouldn't have to put up with my education."

Ignoring her companion's insight, Effina headed back into the bathing area to find some form of container for water. It didn't take her much time to find a relatively sturdy washbasin and then she went to pick it up. Just as she reached over to the basin, she felt a small pinprick-like sensation in the back of her left thigh. Claiming her basin, Effina used a free hand to check whatever it was that had pricked her. She placed her forefinger over the area the feeling came from and drew it back with a small bead of blood on it. Something must've stung her, or maybe. Thinking little of it, Effina went to head back to the hallway when she felt that her left leg was feeling rather heavy and refusing to move. Her leg soon buckled and she landed on her left knee, using her right leg to hold her whole body up from collapsing under the sudden loss of movement from her other leg.

"Such a cute little girl. I was rather reluctant to ruining your pretty legs." A child-like female voice came from behind her. "You should cover yourself up more, otherwise you'll get stung again."

Effina tried to turn to the source of the voice, but suddenly her whole lower body felt as numb as her left leg did. Was it paralysing poison?! She fell to the floor on her front, the washbasin which was in her hands loudly clattering along the floor into the hallway. The numbness spread across her body at an alarming rate, completely paralysing all but her head from moving.

"Although, saying that, you were covered up nice until you broke the Seal on the entrance." The childish voice continued with a giggle. "I suppose I should thank you for taking that ward for me."

"Hey! Get up! Fight it!" Tone commanded Effina, sounding incredibly concerned.

Effina felt something trying to lift her body up, but due to the paralysis, it was too much of a deadweight for Tone to lift. Effina then saw the folds of a black cloak move into the front of her view. Beneath the small opening between the cloak and the flooring, Effina spotted a pair of black children's dress shoes. The cloak clad figure turned to face Effina, but she couldn't command her body to look up to see her attacker's face.

"Don't worry. It's not deadly." The figure reassured Effina. "However, I did concoct it to stun an adult for fifteen minutes. I wasn't expecting you to shrink so much. I'm estimating you'll be down for around half an hour. That gives me more than enough time to find it."

The figure then knelt down in front of Effina and extended a small tan coloured hand towards her face. Each fingernail on the hand was painted a different colour. The forefinger was striped black and yellow, the middle finger was a teal colour, the ring finger was a forest green, the little finger was a deep orange and the thumb was a striking red. From what little she could see, the attacker had placed their middle fingernail on Effina's cheek and started to apply pressure to it.

"I hate to see something so adorable suffer, so I'll give you a nice pleasant rest while you can't move. Think of it as my parting gift for being such a good sport and leaving my path wide open. I call this one my Euphoric Tranquilliser. It'll put you to sleep and give you the enjoyment your heart desires with those you have feelings for." The child explained. Effina then felt a sharp stinging pain at the place where the child had placed her fingernail. The pain was followed by a small trickle of blood down her cheek and an irresistible sleepiness overcoming her. "Pleasant dreams, my sweet Prince."

With her consciousness slipping into sleep, Effina faintly saw her attacker leaving the bathing area and heading down the hallway towards the intersection. Tone continued her attempts at moving and waking Effina but all was for nought as Effina began to fall into a deep, lust filled sleep...

"You'd like that wouldn't you to sit around here collecting dust once more. But that isn't happening while you are annoying it's nice to talk to someone." Effina told her.

She soon found a washbasin and as she went to pick it up something. Touched her thigh as she checked what it was she could see blood on her finger. Something had stung her wanting to know what it was she headed back into the hall but her. Left leg soon felt heavy and collasped trying to use her right leg the same thing happened again until she fell full onto the ground.

The washbasin bouncing from her hands. A small child-like voice spoke up from behind her and Tone did as well Effina tried to speak and fight back. But her whole body felt like deadweight as something was keeping her from moving. From where she lay Effina saw black dress shoes and someone in a black cloak.

Her attacker then touched her cheek and Effina began to fall asleep before. She did from what she heard this person seemed to know who she was. There was only a small handful of people who knew who Effina truly was. Tone tried to move and wake her up but sleep overtook Effina and she passed out.

As Effina began to dream her mind began to fill with the faint images of those around her. However two people stood out among those she knew. First was Zena who Effina found to be rather nice when she wasn't fighting with her and the second, Was the green-haired girl who had still been on her horny mind here and there. Effina began to dream about Zena being in a lewd situation where she felt attracted to Effina and wished for her to touch her like Naru had done. While the green-haired needed to pee once again and was to allow her to watch again.

Through the effects of the poison that her assailant had used, Effina dreamt about lustfully watching and engaging in questionable acts with both Zena and the unusual Green Haired Girl who she saw publicly urinate into a drain. Despite the harrowing encounter which bought about this delusional dream, it was actually quite a nice present from a potential enemy. Like the attacker herself had said, she could've left Effina to suffer with the paralysis, but was merciful and allowed her a tasty tidbit of tantalising theatre. Maybe paralysing Effina was 'just business' for the Girl?

Sadly, Effina was pulled from her lewd leering and back into the cold reality of herself lying on the dusty hard floor of an ancient ruin with her body feeling as stiff as a board, but movable, and a slight dampness between her legs from something which was definitely not pee. Thankfully, she was in a 'Safe Zone' so the Sanctification hadn't kicked off. Groggily pushing herself up slightly, Effina felt like she'd had a long night of hitting the bottle too hard and was experiencing a 'hangover' like effect without the nausea. She could faintly feel another person by her side, and turned to see something she was not expecting to see. Tone had stayed by her side all through the poison's effects, and even cleaned up a little after Effina's lewd leaking of love juices. However, the spirit now looked to be asleep herself, keeping one hand on Effina's back to ensure that the girl was safe.

Perhaps Tone could be nice as well?

The that Effina had was suprisingly a great one. She dreamt of various lewd and questionable acts with both Zena and the green-haired girl. But the main question was just who was this potential enemy. Were they really an enemy or just some random stranger. They could have done a lot more harm to Effina than just the paralysis they could have killed her.

30 minutes passed and Effina was pulled from her dream. As she found herself lying on the cold floor. Her body felt offerly stiff and there was a slight dampness between her legs. Pushing herself up a little her head felt like crap. Looking over she saw someone by her side it turned out to be Tone she felt the spirit's hand on her back and appeared to be sleeping. Why would Tone be doing this in the first place Effina thought she didn't like her.

While Effina puzzled over why the previously antagonistic Spirit was actually being nice for one, she managed to get herself up into a sitting position, but couldn't really manage much more at the moment due to the aftereffects of the Paralysis. However, it was clearing quite quickly, so she'd probably be able to move again very soon, but possibly not as fast as she used to for a little while. The poison had passed through her system incredibly quickly, but some parts of it still lingered.

Effina's movements had roused Tone from her slumber. The Spirit's eyes gently fluttered open as she looked upon the now moving girl. For the briefest of moments, a mixture of relief and happiness passed over the Spirit's usually stoic expressions, however, this was quickly masked by a slight blush as she disappeared back into the confines of her Vessel.

"So, you've finally stopped sleeping around." Tone commented, attempting to mask the gleeful tone to her voice. "I got bored waiting, you pervert. You must've had quite the perverted dream to get as wet as you did."

Effina felt that she was able to move a little more now. But still couldn't really manage to get to her feet just yet. She was able to get into a sitting position as she sat there Tone began to show signs of waking up. Her eyes opened and Effina could see a mixture of relief and happiness and what looked like a slight blush. Before she vanished back into the book once again.

"I'm sure you've had your fair share of dreams that have done the same thing." Effina countered. There wasn't any anger in her tone. "Thanks for keeping an eye on me." Effina said. She looked around the ruins for a tiny bit from where she sat. "Any idea of where our cloaked friend has gone?"

Effina decided to play along with Tone's comments this time instead of kicking off about them.

"Maybe I have, maybe I haven't. I'm not going to tell you." Tone retaliated, neither confirming or denying Effina's suspicions. Effina's next show of appreciation triggered Tone's 'Tsun' side once more. "W-well, i-it's not like I could've done anything other than that. You still had my Vessel, and I couldn't just leave you alone." Tone quickly answered, her voice going a little quieter at the end of her statement. Although Effina couldn't see Tone at present, she had a feeling that the blush on the Spirit's face would have likely deepened three more shades of pink.

Effina could just about stand up now and move around some more. Her body still felt a little stiff and tender in places, but it didn't hamper her ability to walk around any more.

"I think she went down the corridor to the intersection, but I'm not sure where she went from there." Tone explained. "I don't think you should go after her just yet. She might do something more dangerous if she caught on to you tailing her."

Tone told Effina where their little friend had gone and for once she agreed. With the Spirit she got back to her feet and started to head back out of the ruins. "I'd rather just forget today happened and rest," Effina said she walked thinking about. How she was going to explain what had happened to herself to make her a girl. "I've got a lot of explaining to do to the others" Effina sighed,

"Would you by chance happen to know what 'it' is? I heard our friend mention. That before I passed out?"

Effina decided she'd done enough Ruins Raiding for one day and began to head back to the entrance of the ruins. She knew she had a whole lot of explaining to do, and puzzled over just how she was going to convince the others that the little girl in front of them was, in fact, the tall gentleman who'd left to do a spot of exploring. Maybe Coral could scent out her 'Papa', if she had that sort of natural talent?

On the way back to the entrance, Effina asked just what their rival may have been hunting for.

"No idea. Lots of donations and offerings to the Prime Gods are held inside a Shrine's vault." Tone explained. "Worst case scenario, the previous Head of the Shrine may have confiscated a defective Guardian and our cloaked companion may have found a way to awaken and repair it. Anyway, there are no salvageable Guardians left from my knowledge, so perhaps they were just after ancient scriptures, or something. However, the kid with the ruler of this City is very much like a Guardian, but also very different..."

Effina reached the entrance to the shrine and continued on out of the mineshafts into the evening glow of Argenta. It was actually pretty late now, perhaps around 6-7 in the evening. It was likely time to head home anyway, so Effina began to retrace her steps back to the Commercial District.

"Well, what ever is is that was located inside the valut must be something of value. For them to take and not wishing for me to lay my hands on. Maybe the Duke might know what it might be I don't know."

It was pretty late in the evening now and Effina retraced her steps. Back into the Commercial District following the same path she had taken as a male. "I should warn you that there is another female who finds cute girls attractive beware." Effina told Tone. She finally arrived back at Duke Trent's home and stood before the door for a moment then finally rang the bell.

"I doubt anyone around here will know what's in that vault. The Shrine had been sealed for centuries until you blasted it open." Tone answered. "She could've just been a treasure hunter wishing to make a name for herself and take whatever loot you would've gotten. It's a rough world out there, outside of your ivory towers, you pampered Noble. You don't have to worry about money, but not everyone is as lucky."

Effina managed to find her way back to Duke Trent's residence and offered a warning to Tone about Naru's behaviour.

"I guess I should be careful then." Tone replied. "You should be fine, though. She won't go after you, I'm sure of it."

Planning her excuse in her mind before diving in, Effina finally pressed the doorbell, and the usual commotion was faintly heard on the other end. Naru must've come back to claim Zena, if the raised female voices were anything to go by. Eventually, the one to open the door was Syl, as Zena and Naru were going at one another again. Of course, Syl didn't recognise Effina as anyone she knew.

"Um...are you, perhaps, lost?" Syl asked Effina. "I don't think the owners of this house were expecting any other guests. Should I get a COG Official to take you home?"

"Being doted on by a child." Tone quietly snickered. "Well, 'Little Lost Girl'?"

"Someone has to know what was in the vault?" Effina questioned. But wasn't sure if anyone around the city would currently know what was located inside. The only person who would know would be the one who knocked her out. "No one can really touch you from what I can tell. As I haven't tried touching you when out of the book. Just don't let Naru see you she is already giving poor Zena trouble."

After she had pressed the doorbell, she heard the sound of commotion on the other end. It appeared that Naru might have come back as they were going at it again. The door opened and there appeared Syl who didn't recognise Effina.

"I'm not lost, Syl I'm where I am needed, and I don't need a COG Official either. This is going to be hard to explain but it's me Elthin. Perhaps you can go get Duke Trent or Coral as there is things needed to be discussed."

"Yup, the one who put you to sleep and made you get all horny." Tone agreed dismissively with Effina's stating of the obvious.

When Syl opened the door and asked Effina if she was lost, Effina dived straight in without giving any kind of background, which startled Syl, as Effina openly stated her name and then claimed to be someone who's twice her size and the opposite gender. Syl's little cat ears and tail poked out due to her loss of concentration and sudden shock.

"Awwww, the wittle kitty needs petting." Tone giggled to herself.

"U-u-um...I-I'll go get someone else." Syl quickly answered as she hastily closed the door before retreating further into the house, perhaps in search of an adult.

"Very smooth. As smooth as a gravel road." Tone continued her running commentary. "Just charge on in there with the 'I know your name, kid'. Ever heard of stranger danger?"

There was some commotion on the other end, mixing in with the noise of Naru's behaviour before the raunchy clamour stopped after Syl raised her voice to get Naru's attention. Quiet discussion must have gone on next as there was silence as far as Effina could hear. Finally, after a few tense minutes of waiting, Naru's ero-loving behaviour resumed, but her target wasn't Zena this time, as Zena was holding her back.

"I must do my duty as a COG Official!" Naru exclaimed, her voice muffled by the closed door. "A cute little lost girl needs to find her way back home! I'll take her in until HQ Opens tomorrow."

"No you won't!" Zena countered. "You just want to strip her, like you did that other girl."

"It doesn't really take three of us to open a door, kids." Duke Trent explained to someone who had probably come to the door with him.

"Syl said Coral should come along." Coral complained. "Coral knows Papa by Papa's smell."

Well, that's two of the three found out. Like before, the front door was opened to reveal Duke Trent there, but it was clear that there were two small people hiding behind him. Upon seeing Effina, Duke Trent returned to his usual jovial behaviour.

"Might as well open up my home as a playhouse with all the little ones coming here." Duke Trent sighed with a smile. He turned to look behind his right side before saying. "Time to put that nose of yours to use."

From behind Duke Trent's right side peeked Coral, who proceeded to stare at Effina quite intensely. Strangely enough, another little girl peered from behind his left side, just a little bit behind where Coral stood. Pale green eyes also stared at Effina intensely.

Syl was quite surprised by the reveal and while it would have. Been better to tell her some background she thought it'd be better to explain things to everyone all at once. Syl left to go get another person leaving Tone and Effina alone. "I could have let you explain it all." Effina said before Naru and Zena arrived. But Naru was acting like her usual self lusting now after Effina. While Zena held her back away.

"I don't need any help there, but I know someone who might need that help." Effina stated. She thought of seeing how Naru would handle Tone. There was no way she'd let Naru touch the book or anything of the sort.

Coral and Duke Trent arrived moments later.

"This is all going to be rather hard to explain." Effina told them. Before looking to Duke Trent for a couple of moments. Coral then peeked out from the right side while another girl peeked from the left side. She had green eyes and Effina was reminded of the green-haired girl from before.

"How did you come to be here?"

Effina countered Tone's usual heckling.

"That would've just made things much worse. I mean, you would have had to hand her my Vessel and then she'd suddenly see someone randomly appear from nowhere." Tone answered. "You're really terrible at explaining things."

To quell the mounting confusion, Duke Trent opened the door, and Coral, along with the Green Haired Girl from earlier, stared at Effina.

"You know, you're a crime waiting to happen." Tone interjected upon seeing two young girls, one who no doubt called Effina's male counterpart 'Papa', and other who looked just as young as the first. "Do you pick up kids on the street with promises of sweets, or something?"

Effina tried to explain that it would be really hard to properly vocalise this entire random mess of trouble.

"So, pick up on anything, or do you like staring at people?" Duke Trent asked Coral, who proceeded to slowly move towards Effina and nestle her face against Effina's chest, while the Green Haired Girl watched on. A few moments later, Coral suddenly hugged Effina.

"Papa, why're you a girl now?!" Coral questioned in confusion. "And you're the same size as Coral now. Why'd you shrink?!"

A dragon's nose does not lie. Coral knew just who Effina was, but Duke Trent was still extremely confused by it all.

"So, you're telling me this half-pint on my doorstep is the ruins maniac who set off earlier today?" Duke Trent attempted to clarify.

"Coral knows it's Papa." Coral countered, pouting. "Coral's not gonna mistake Papa's scent!"

"Maybe but it'd be funny to see how she'd react."

Tone once more spoke up about the other two girls.

"No I don't the one who calls be 'Papa' was born from an egg and is a dragon. The other one I don't know I don't even know why she's here we only met a short while ago." Effina stated.

Coral came over then hugged her a little later asking questions.

"The way into the ruins was booby trapped and when I forced my way inside with magic. I was changed into a girl for some weird reason." she told Coral. Then looked over at the Duke who was still confused by it all. "That'd be me, and I believe you should find this interesting I found this book outside the ruins. There's a surprise inside of it just wait a few seconds"

Effina handed over Tone's vessel to Duke Trent.

Effina tried to justify why two children were somehow connected to a single man.

"Yup, a likely story. I may as well say that I'm a reincarnated aspect of a Prime God." Tone answered, unconvinced that beings as ancient as Dragons were walking the earth once more.

Next, when Coral recognised Effina's scent, Effina explained how she ended up turning from a male into a female.

"So, you're a girl now forever?" Coral questioned. "Papa will always be Papa, no matter whether you're a boy or a girl."

"I still find this very hard to believe, but I won't doubt a Dragon's Scenting." Duke Trent interjected.

Effina went to hand over Tone's Vessel to Duke Trent in an attempt at showing him the strange being.

"I don't think that will-" Tone began before her voice was cut off when Effina handed the book over.

"Hmmm, this looks like a rather old book." Duke Trent commented as he examined the book. "Adamantine lock, warhide bindings, papyrus vellum. These aren't materials normally found around here. I can't remember where the last vein of Adamantine was found, but I know it must have been at least a few centuries ago. As for the bindings, the method for curing the hide from the ancient War Turtles is only know to very few people."

It seems Tone had chosen quite the rare vessel. If what Duke Trent thought the book was made from was true, then it could easily net an insanely large sum of money if sold to the right person.

"I can't see any way to get past the lock, as nothing can cut through Adamantine apart from Alchemically Refined Diamonds. Even the Magicians in the Mainland wouldn't be able to blast it open unless they had the weapon which caused the Gott Crater." Duke Trent continued. "So, how'd you know there's a surprise inside?"

After looking over the book once more, Duke Trent handed it back to Effina. Tone's voice returned into Effina's head.

"How rude to just pass me around like a common curio." Tone complained. "He couldn't have heard me even if I'd forced my way into his head. Only people with a deep connection to the elements can perceive Elemental Beings, and these 'Kinetics' are as far from Elementally Attuned as you can get."

Once Effina got the book back Tone was able to speak to her again.

"They are walking the earth you just don't seem to believe it but you will given time."

Coral next spoke up.

"I don't really know I hope it will wear off soon." Effina told Coral. She patted the girl on the head with a hand.

Duke Trent had examined the book a short time ago before asking. How Effina knew about the surprise within the book.

"Because a young girl appeared out of the book and speaks to me at times. This all started when I found the book outside the ruins. Her time is Tone and she's a rather odd but nice girl at times."

Tone spoke on how others couldn't see her unless they had connections to the elements.

"So, how am I suppose to get others to see you?"

There was still more to be discussed.

"May I come in, there's something that happened within the ruins I need to tell you about. It appears someone was shadowing me and had followed me inside." she looked over at the other girl. 'How did you end up here?" she asked.

Effina was insistent that Dragons walked the Earth once more, and that Tone would soon believe given time. Shortly after the book was handed to Duke Trent, Effina tried to convince both herself and Coral that her transformation would likely wear off soon.

Once more, Effina forgot that claiming she heard voices in her head when she held an inconspicuous item would likely make her sound like she needed to seek professional mental help.

"Um...right...?" Duke Trent answered, looking even more confused and a little concerned from Effina's mental wellbeing. "Are you sure that it might not just be a side effect of the thing which blasted you into a little girl?"

When the book was handed back to Elthin, Tone had a few choice words as well.

"Yup, just make it sound like you belong in a sanatorium. I'm sure you'll get where you want to be eventually with the help of some kind specialists and a very large needle." Tone informed Effina in a mock comforting tone. "If you were still in your original form, then you'd likely be told you've had a few too many pot pipes and alcohol."

Effina wanted to know how she'd get others to perceive Tone.

"You'll need to do some very specific, if a little dangerous things. I wouldn't advise it." Tone replied. "You'll have to hold your breath, close your eyes, plug your ears and then hold hands with the person you want to perceive me. Even then, it's not guaranteed to work."

Effina deiced that she'd spent enough time standing outside and requested to be let in.

"Ah, sure." Duke Trent confirmed as he stepped out of the doorway back into the house. "Though, I'm not really sure you'll be safe around, you know, when you look like that. She's already nabbed up the girl you keep staring at, and tried to have her way with her."

The Green haired girl was trying to hide behind Duke Trent, but Effina managed to notice her. When Effina asked her a question, the first thing out of the girl with a startled 'eep!'.

"I-I...u-um...I..." The Green Haired Girl stammered out, not really managing to turn what she wanted to say into intelligible words. Looking a little closer at, her, the Girl's clothes had changed to one of Zena's outfits. Perhaps she...

"She's just stopping by while her clothes are cleaned." Duke Trent spoke on the girl's behalf. "Her brother had to run a few more errands in town. He'll pick her up a little later."

"That's not what happened at all, it's just hard to explain." Effina sighed.

Tone spoke up again.

"Only if they could use the needle on you first I wonder what the specialists would do to you?" Effina countered.

Duke Trent stepped aside and Effina walked inside. He soon mentioned how Naru had her way with the young girl next to her and might have her way with Effina. This didn't sit well with Effina at all she didn't like how Naru was causing problems with others. 'I have my ways of handling her, she's just a very big handful I already had to pull her off Zena hours ago."

The green-haired girl tried to speak but couldn't and the duke explained how things went.

"Okay, then."

Effina continued to insinuate that every taunt Tone said could be used against her.

"Yeah, not going to happen." Tone countered. "Invisible to all but the holder of my vessel, remember? And I doubt they'd have any connection to the Elements, so no luck there."

Duke Trent cautioned Effina on Naru's behaviour, but Effina was confident that she'd be able to handle herself well enough.

"But you were much bigger then, and were likely stronger than you are now." Duke Trent continued. "She may look like a strong breeze could blow her over, but don't let that fool you."

"How rude, judging a girl by something so personal." Tone commented. "Also, he has no tact when it comes to delicate issues. Typical machine nut."

Effina entered Duke Trent's house and, soon enough, Zena's hold on the raging beast that was Naru faltered, allowing the cute-crazed girl to barge out into the hallway and go straight for Effina.

"Two cute little things in one day? Nothing could get better!" Naru exclaimed as she dived on Effina and gave her a tight hug. "Although, something at the very back of my mind makes me feel really angry when I see you for some reason. Oh well, it's probably nothing~."

"Wow, a raging homo." Tone interjected with a smirk. "You may lose your virginity yet, if only as a little girl."

"I know perhaps two people who might be able to see you." Effina told her. Thinking about both Lucine and Carol. Thinking about Lucine Effina went on to ask how she was doing, "How's Lucine doing is she up and about?"

Duke Trent spoke about Naru.

"True, but I have my ways of handling her." Effina cautioned the duke.

Tone spoke up and then Naru came into view and dived onto Effina giving her a tight hug, "Get off me who said you could touch me?" Effina tried to get out of Naru's hug. Naru spoke of something that Effina knew quite well she'd use that to her advantage and get a good laugh out of it. When she changed back into a male hopefully.

Effina suggested the idea that perhaps two others could interact with Tone as she did.

"Meh, whatever." Tone answered, sounding disinterested in the chance of communicating with anyone else.

Effina then remembered, once more, someone she keeps forgetting when other cute girls are around.

"She's doing a bit better now." Duke Trent replied. "She's still rather angry about being force-fed the medicine though. Zena had to hold her down while Syl sprayed it down her throat through a syringe."

"That stuff was horrible!" Coral cut in. "It tasted bad, smelled bad and was all thick and gooey!"

As expected, Effina was pounced on by Naru the moment she stepped through the door. Effina attempted to remove the offending girl, but found that she wasn't exactly strong enough to do so in this form. Naru was surprisingly heavy for someone her small size. The extra weight definitely didn't come from her bust or her rear. In fact, the additional weight was almost metallic in nature, like Naru had on a load of metal implements for meting out justice and capturing the cute hidden somewhere on her person.

Effina tried to play hard to get, but it was just enticing Naru more.

"I'm just checking to see if you're okay. Girls like you shouldn't be walking around all alone so late in the day." Naru countered, sounding more like she was holding down Zena then some man-turned-girl. "Oh my, you're so dusty! Just where were you playing?"

A questionable glint appeared in Naru's eyes as she hungrily gazed down upon the captured girl in her arms.

"We'll have to get you cleaned up right away! We can't keep you all dusty, it'll ruin your delicate skin!" Naru continued as her hands shot down to the bottom of Effina's top. Naru had now straddled Effina on the floor and was holding her down by gently sitting on top of her instead of using her arms. "We'll take a shower together, all three of us~! You, me and that little green cutie by the door."

"Where's she right now?" Effina asked.

Tone appeared not to be interested in meeting anyone else. So she took a moment to speak to her on that once more. "It must get boring after a while only having one person to chat with?" Coral then spoke up and Effina decided to try the book out with Coral at a later time she was a dragon after her. Surely her link to the element of water would surely help out here.

"I'm going to test that theory again later." Effina told Tone.

"I can take care of myself" Effina spoke up. She once again tried to fight Naru off of her. But was must weaker there appeared to be extra weight on Naru somewhere. Which made it much harder for Effina to get away. Naru next asked about where she was to get so dusty and Effina didn't answer. As Naru's hands shot down to the bottom of Effina's top. She knew what was coming next and didn't like it. She fought harder now to get herself free as her thoughts drifted to Zena. Thinking this was what she normally went through and must hate it.

"I can bathe myself, and get off me!" Effina yelled at Naru.

She had nothing against the thought of showering with the green cutie. But she didn't want to be around Naru. "Help, help someone get this girl off me please?" Effina cried.

Effina wanted to know where Lucine was.

"I think she's upstairs." Duke Trent answered, a little unsure of the location of one of the many little people in his home. "She's likely in Zena's room unpacking and getting changed out of her dress clothes."

Effina wanted to know if it was boring for Tone to only chat to one person.

"Animals can see and hear me, as they've got a good link to the natural elements of the world. Although, talking to animals doesn't really do much for conversation." Tone explained. Effina then suggested that she had an idea as to how to get Tone another conversation partner. "Do what you will. Just don't ruin my Vessel."

Effina finally realised that her small body was no match for a trained Community Officer like Naru. Effina had no idea what kind of training regime COG Recruits went through to ensure they were suitable for the position, but it certainly must've required them to be physically fit. Naru's ability at detaining criminals seems quite on point, if this is the kind of thing she does.

"Now, let's get all those dusty clothes off and clean you down~ " Naru informed Effina while attempting to swiftly remove the smaller girl's top. She got it around half-removed when Zena cut in with a rather strange announcement.

"Hey, I'm not wearing any panties." Zena called over to Naru, who's attention was soon turned from Effina to the sudden information that someone was going commando. In the blink of an eye, Naru had disappeared off of Effina and was now positioned just underneath Zena, looking up the other girl's skirt.

"Don't say things like that even if it isn't true!" Naru scolded Zena. "You don't know what lecherous fiend may be listening."

Effina learned where Lucine was currently and was given the okay by Tone. To do what she could to see if that would work out with Coral. While she was on the floor at Naru's mercy the girl had tried to take off her top. Effina fought back even harder then before trying to use two hands to grab hold of Naru's skin and pinch the hell out of her.

Zena then cut in and saved Effina from embarressment. As she was able to now get up and dusted herself off. She looked over at Zena "thank you." before she went over to the green girl. "Did she do anything bad to you?" Effina whispered to her. Then looked back to Naru, 'I didn't like what you did to me how can you do these things?" Effina spoke to her.

Just as Effina was about to accept being undressed by a sex-crazed fiend, Zena cut in and saved the small girl from nudity without consent. Shortly after Naru had teleported over to Zena and said her piece, Zena had plans of her own.

"I know a certain lecherous fiend that'd be listening for it from the other end of town." Zena countered as she knelt down next to Naru and gently pinched a pressure point between her shoulder and neck, which resulted in knocking Naru out for now. Effina thanked Zena for her clutch save. "Sorry you had to put up with that. She gets a little crazy around small girls."

Effina then asked the green haired girl if she fell victim to the lust of Naru. Like she did before, the Green Haired girl hid behind Duke Trent and gave a quiet, stammered answer.

"U-um...sh-she nearly got my blouse off, b-but Zena saved me." The Green Haired girl answered, avoiding eye contact with Effina. She seemed very quiet and demure when she wasn't around her big brother. "Then Zena took the shower with me..."

"If the pervy Magician was here, he'd likely wanna do something similar." Zena commented, completely oblivious of the fact that the aforementioned 'pervy magician' was just across the hallway from her.

Effina knew just who Zena was talking about as it was her male half. Deciding to dig a little deeper into what Zena thought of Elthin Effina asked a question. "Do you really dislike this 'fiend' that much he can't be that bad can he?" Effina asked. She watched as Zena knocked out Naru paying close attention to where Zena had pressed.

"Not, something like really liked that's for sure does she do this to you a lot?"

Effina turned to the Green haired girl who again hid behind Duke Trent. "It's nice that Zena helped you out I'll try to help you too."

That reminded Effina that she needed to get cleaned up. "Is there a place where I can get cleaned up, and barrow a change or clothes too?"

As Effina looked at Zena she wondered if there was someway she could shower with her.

Effina made a quick mental note of the spot Zena used to shut-down the sex fiend that is Naru. Effina then tried to defend her male self.

"You've clearly never met him." Zena countered. "He's a pervy pervert who pervs on little girls and taunts them about their weaknesses." However, Zena's tsun side couldn't keep up the whole charade. "But, I guess he can be nice sometimes. B-but that's really rare!"

Effina offered to help out the Green Haired girl.

"That's nice of you. Thanks." The girl quietly replied.

Effina then remembered that she was, indeed, covered in dust and still slightly clammy from her love juices down below, so she asked if she could clean up and change.

"The shower should be free upstairs at the moment, but Lucine and Coral still need to clean up before dinner as well." Duke Trent informed Effina.

"I'll clean up with Papa!" Coral excitedly declared as she jumped on Effina once more. "And I'll get Big Sis to join us!"

"Papa?" Zena whispered to herself, confused at the statement from the Dragon. She did propose a solution for the lack of clean clothes. "I guess you're a similar size to me, so I've got a few outfits you could borrow for tonight."

Zena spoke on how she felt about Effina's male half.

"He can't be all that mad I'm sure he would have to have a nice side." Effina spoke. Then went on to ask Zena another question. "You don't happen to like him by chance do you?"

The green-haired girl then replied on how she thought it was nice for what. Effina agreed to do for her so it would take time to do.

Duke Trent spoke on where the shower was and that Lucine and Coral still. Needed to clean up before dinner.

"I'm okay with taking care of myself." Effina said.

Zena seemed to say something to herself which Effina didn't catch. "Thank you they can be picked out while I clean myself up." Effina started to head up the stairs.

Effina decided to tease Zena by asking if she had feelings for Effina's true self. The blush which overtook Zena's face gave away half of the story.

"NO!" Zena quickly blurted out. "W-well, I don't like like him, b-but I don't hate him either! I...I...tolerate him! Yeah, I tolerate him!"

Effina declined Coral's offer for a threesome shower. However, the little dragon had other thoughts in mind.

"You're cleaning up with us, and that's final!" Coral pouted. She'd definitely inherited Freya's commanding side. "You've been away from Big Sis and Coral all day, so we're keeping you with us now!"

At the insistence of her Dragon-Child, Effina had little say in the matter, as Coral would likely kick up and throw a tantrum if Effina still said no. Somehow, it felt like a Dragon's tantrum would not a good guest make, so it would be better to suck up the defiance and go along with Coral's wishes.

From the look on Zena's face Effina learn that Zena did in fact. Like her male half or at least part of her did "from the look on your face I would think differently." Coral next said that it was final that Effina should join her and Lucine for a triple time shower.

She wanted to say no, but there was little she could say in the matter. As Coral would liking throw a tantrum which would only lead to more problems. "Okay, Okay I'll do it" Effina sighed it felt offerly weird to be taking a shower with girls as a girl. Before leaving Zena behind for now Effina turned back to her.

"Can we talk again later?"

Effina decided that it would be best to comply with Coral's wishes, or fear a Dragon-sized temper tantrum.

"Good, 'cause Coral would've been mad had you still said no." Coral retorted. "Let's go get Big Sis."

While being pulled upstairs by a boisterous Dragonling, Effina requested to speak to Zena again later.

"Oh, um, okay, I guess." Zena answered, not sure why a stranger would barge into their house and then request to talk later. No doubt Effina would have to reveal her true identity later, but...

Once Coral had dragged Effina upstairs, they headed straight for Zena's room, which happened to be next door to the toilet, for potentially obvious reasons. The bathroom, however, was just across the hall from it and closer to the stairs. Without so much as a knock, Coral pushed the bedroom door open, revealing Lucine in just her underwear looking at various dresses spread over a sleeping bag on the floor. The sudden opening of the door caused Lucine to yelp in surprise, cover her chest and lower regions with her hands and turn away slightly for more cover. It was clear from the redness on her face that she was a mixture of embarrassed and angry.

"Knock first!" Lucine ordered Coral, who just ignored the request.

"Dukey said we should clean up before dinner, so get those off." Coral countered, as if it was just a standard manner of behaviour.

Eventually, Lucine noticed the dragged along Effina and didn't quite understand why another youth was wandering around Duke Trent's house.

"Why've we gotta do it together?!" Lucine retaliated. "Can't you even bathe by yourself? And why are you dragging along a total stranger?!"

"Papa's not a stranger!" Coral shot back. "Papa's just a little different now."

Of course, Lucine didn't buy the whole 'Effina is actually Elthin' story.

"You don't plan on taking showers with me when I'm back to normal do you?" Effina asked. It'd be a little weird to be doing something like that and would bring up a lot of questions. Zena then had agreed to speak to her later and they were off only to enter into Zena's room moments later where Lucine was.

Upon entering they both saw Lucine in her underwear who was looking over dresses. Only to yelp in surprise when she turned to see who it was. Lucine appeared both embarrassed and angry, this gave Effina a chance to take a moment to look Lucine over. Before watching what went on between the two of them next.

"That's a rather long story which can all be explained later." Effina stated.

Effina asked if Coral had any intentions of still cleaning up with her when she's back to normal. Of course, the innocent Dragon knew no better.

"Mama lets me clean up with her, so what makes Papa any different?" Coral returned the question before jumping to a ludicrous conclusion. "Doesn't Papa like Coral any more?"

Coral seemed rather upset at the idea that she couldn't bathe with Effina back when she's her 'Papa'.

Obviously, at the first chance she got, Effina ogled the near-nude Lucine, taking in every inch of her still developing body. It was surprising just how nice a figure she had for a slum girl, and nearly no imperfections as well! She must've been very well looked after back when she lived in the Slums. The only blemish at the moment on her enticing tan coloured skin was the healing scar from her wound back when Effina first met her. If Effina dressed her up really nicely, ensured that she kept her mouth shut out in public, and taught her basic Noble etiquette, Lucine could very easily pass as an exotic Nobleman's daughter. However, Effina's perv session was short lived, as Lucine quickly grabbed one of the dresses on the Sleeping bag and held it up in front of her, blocking all wandering eyes from seeing the treasures that lay underneath that thin piece of material.

"Whatever, let's just get it over with if you're so fixed on us bathing together." Lucine relented, knowing it was pointless trying to argue with Coral. "You go on ahead, I'll finish up in here."

Lucine was a little concerned as to why Coral called the strange girl that was with her 'Papa', but blocked out all troublesome thoughts and put it down to the younger girl's lack of basic knowledge.

"Papa still likes Coral" Effina told the dragon while trying to think of a way. To explain the reasoning why it'd be odd for a male to be bathing with a small female. "This can be talked about later with Mama." Effina would need help here.

Effina took the time to study Lucine's figure more closely. Before she grabbed a dress which then blocked off all view of her treasures. Coral and Effina went on ahead to the bathroom leaving Lucine behind for now.

Effina, needing the support of an adult to explain such a tender topic, decided to discuss why it would be odd for her male counterpart to bathe with a young girl. This abated the curious child's curiosity for now at least.

Upon her encounter with Lucine, Coral and Effina headed off to the bathroom ahead of Lucine to prepare the shower for when she joined. Unsurprisingly, Coral had already stripped off her clothes and left them on the floor outside of Zena's room before Effina even closed the door. Effina was now seeing the young body of the Dragon in all its nude glory once more, which didn't seem that odd considering how often she'd seen it before. However, it was still rather enticing to look at. Such potential remained, yet it was unlikely Coral would develop bigger assets than her 'Mother', but still, smaller could be better.

Effina and Coral arrived in the bathroom and Coral dived straight in the shower without a second thought. The water wasn't even on yet, but that didn't stop the Young Dragon.

"Hey, hurry up, Papa! Coral's waiting!" Coral instructed Effina.

On the way Coral stripped out of her clothes outside Zena's room. Letting Effina look upon the dragon's naked glory. She looked at it for a moment and arrived at the bathroom. Where Coral dived into the shower before asking Effina to hurry up.

"Hold, on, hold on." Effina told her.

Effina had a bit of a hard time taking off her clothes. As she had never done this sort of thing before but in time was able to get them off. Before she joined Coral in the shower she turned on the water making sure it was nice and warm.

Unaffected by Coral's nudity, Effina followed the energetic girl into the bathroom and began to undress herself, in a little more privacy. It took Effina a short while to get her clothes off, considering she was not used to wearing girl's clothes normally. However, she seemed to forget that her clothes were created out of her magic, so she could have just dismissed them for an easier time. Nonetheless, she was eventually undressed and ready to begin cleaning herself down.

Effina turned the water onto a nice warm setting before getting into the shower with her 'daughter'. As expected, being a dragon of Water, Coral thoroughly enjoyed standing underneath the shower head, giggling gleefully as the water washed over her small body in rivulets, cascading down her front and sliding through the folds of her skin and lower regions. In the stream of water, Effina noticed that Coral's horns and wings were completely visible, yet still partially translucent. It was expected before, but seeing the horns and wings once more alerted Effina that they were not designed to take to the air, but rather act more like fins to aid in water propulsion and movement. A flap of her strange looking wings could likely net her extreme acceleration in water. However, another thing stood out that Effina had not seen before on the young Dragon, but would make sense being on her. Coral actually had a small tail as well which looked partially like a Dragon's tail mixed with a Mermaid's tail. It was made from the same coral-like material of her wings and horns. Her tail was still incredibly small and thin, more like a young guppy's tail rather than a powerful Sea Serpent's. It looked kind of cute.

Shortly after Effina got into the Shower with Coral and 'assessed' her companion, Lucine came into the bathroom after a small knock. Unsurprisingly, she was also naked, but had the decency to wrap a towel around herself before making the journey from Zena's room to the bathroom.

Effina had climbed into the shower with Coral and 'assessed' her companion. By giving her a look over this time she looked closely at them. Seeing as how both the wings and horns were visible but partially translucent the wings more looked like fins. Which would aid Coral in moving through the water at an easier pace. Even her tail looked more like a mermaids one with a mix of dragon mixed into it.

Turning her eyes away it was now time to start washing herself down. Effina wasn't really sure on where to begin as she'd never bathed as a girl before. Looking back at Coral Effina had an idea that might please the young dragon. "Would you like to wash Papa's back?" Effina asked. Before hearing a knock and seeing Lucine arrive in the room.

Unsure of how a female cleaned themselves down, Effina defaulted to requesting the aid of Coral to help with some parts. Like expected, Coral didn't need asking twice before she dived onto Effina and used her own body as a washcloth. With her arms wrapped around Effina's small budding breasts, Coral rubbed herself up and down across Effina's back. Effina could feel the small bumps of the young Dragon's nipples as their bodies connected, creating a rather sensual feel of intimacy and, strangely, eroticism. The dollop of creamy coloured, vanilla scented shower gel that Coral had squirted between their bodies only added to the forbidden sensation.

To add to the awkwardness, Lucine then came into the bathroom and saw the scene unfolding in front of her. Coral, a really young dragon, covered in sticky, creamy coloured viscous fluid, rubbing her chest against the back of the one she called 'Papa' earlier, with her arms hugging tightly against the other girl's chest. It was akin to a weird fetish based brothel's 'Sessions'. She needed to be there to break up this act of exploiting minors for a disguised older man's personal pleasure. Both angry and incredibly embarrassed, Lucine dropped her towel cover after shutting the door to the bathroom, revealing the tender lips of her lower area and growing breasts to the girls in the shower. She didn't care about Coral, as that girl has no sense of decency at all, but what worried her was the fact she kept calling this stranger 'Papa'. However, she couldn't let this poor show continue

Lucine stormed over to the two, detached Coral from the back of Effina, and then grabbed one of the washcloths on the side of the shower to properly clean Effina's back.

"This is how you clean other people. You do not rub yourself against them!" Lucine instructed Coral, who was pouting from being split from Effina.

Coral jumped at the chance to wash her 'Papa's' back and did. What she thought was best by using her own body as a washcloth. As Coral rubbed herself across her back Effina could feel the small bumps from Coral's breasts. A sense of intimacy passed between the two of them as the feelings from the dream earlier returned between her legs. However the time was cut short as Lucine arrived in the shower and pulled Coral off of Effina.

The way Lucine was washing Effina while the right away gave Effina an idea to try out. "Coral shall we give our friend here a wash of her own?" Effina asked. She moved behind Lucine and poured some soap on her hands and body then. Went through the motion of what Coral did to her on Lucine.

Likely a little annoyed at being separated from her pleasure time with Coral, Effina decided to support the young Dragon's method of cleaning over the correct way of doing it, and chose Lucine to be the target. Out for her own form of revenge, Coral complied with the instruction and slathered her front in shower gel once more to rub herself against Lucine's front, as Effina had taken the back. Lucine was sandwiched between Effina and Coral, which didn't sit well with her at all.

Having nowhere to move, Lucine was at the mercy of the body cleaning by the two other girls, although, she wasn't silent about it. Eventually, she knew that it was pointless to try and fight her way through this, so she relented to the cleaning. Covered in a foamy white substance, Lucine tried to get under the shower head enough to wash off the questionable looking soap and managed to wash off the most of it, however, what came next just made her wish she'd waited a little longer...

They had their fun with washing Lucine together and soon Effina stopped. Letting Lucine move back under the shower head to wash of the soap that covered her body. During this time Effina picked up the washcloth Lucine had used before and started to wash Coral's own back. Taking her time to be gentle with how she washed the dragon.

Deciding that Lucine had had enough punishment, Effina eased up on her forced body washing and went for the more traditional way of cleaning another down. Coral, on the other hand, really enjoyed the skin to skin contact she was having with Lucine, and did not stop her rubbing. She was so caught up in her enjoyment that she didn't notice when a faint yellow stream trickled out from underneath her to run down Lucine's right leg, which Coral had wrapped her own legs around. The small dragon was letting her own shower run without even the faintest idea she was doing it until Lucine pointed it out in a rather shocked, and mildly disgusted way.

"HEY! Get off, you're peeing all over me!" Lucine exclaimed as she tried to move the peeing dragon off her. Coral, at first, fought back against the removal, until she finally realised just what she was doing. It turns out Coral's bladder control isn't that great when running water is involved.

"B-but...Coral didn't...Coral didn't..." Coral tried to say as her eyes misted up with tears.

The small girl began whimpering as she attempted to get her answer out again, but small tears began to fall down her cheeks still as her bladder finally finished emptying itself onto the floor of the shower cubicle to be pulled down the drain.

Realising that she had upset Coral, Lucine showed her experience with dealing with younger children once more. She held Coral in a tight hug, pulling their bodies as close together as safely possible and began to stroke the girl's hair to calm her down.

"It's okay, it's okay. We're getting cleaned up, anyway, so..." Lucine informed Coral, trying to act as motherly as possible. "I was just a little, you know, shocked and all that. So...um...accidents happen and..."

While Effina had stopped with the punishment Coral kept it up cleaning Lucine the way. She enjoyed being so caught up in the moment. Coral didn't notice the yellow stream pouring down Lucine's right leg until Lucine yelled out what was happening. Effina stepped back and looked over to see what was happening. Coral's eyes misted up with tears and she was about to come to Coral's aide.

When Lucine wrapped her up in a tight hug and started to try and calm Coral down. "Accidents do happen from time to time." Effina said gently she reached over and patted the young dragon upon the head.

At first sound of the fact Coral was wetting herself all over Lucine, Effina decided she could not miss this moment and transfixed herself on the scene for the minute it lasted. She'd also faintly caught the onset of the incident from the corner of her eye.

First, it was near unnoticeable. As Coral was gently and innocently humping Lucine's leg as she washed her body with her own, the accident started with a few spurts and droplets. With each movement up, another spurt left the tender vulva of the oblivious girl to snake down Lucine's leg with the downpour from the shower. Each movement down led to a slight trail of pale yellow liquid against Coral's perch.

Up spurt down trickle up spurt down leak...

Up...

psssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhh~

On the third movement up, Coral's last line of defence gave way as the coloured waters burst forth from her urethra through the lips of her labia to splatter against Lucine's leg and merge with the shower water, dyeing the once clear liquid with its yellow hue. What was once a pleasantly warm trickle, which blended in with the shower water, had now become a much warmer river of flowing urine. Perhaps the rise in temperature, or the much more forceful rain on her skin, gave away that Coral had provided a golden shower along with the more cleaner one?

Whatever it was, it was rather obsolete now that Lucine knew about it, and Coral had noticed herself. However, unlike normal, Coral had not taken this in stride with her usual optimism. Instead, she was rather upset with her complete loss of control and lack of notice for her own body's actions. So upset, in fact, that both Lucine and Effina had to try and calm the crying dragon down.

After some much needed hugs and headpats, Coral had stopped crying, but was still evidently ashamed with her actions, and for doing it on her 'Big Sister' as well. The whole 'accidents happen' didn't work much on Coral, as she had no concept of such things outside of less humiliating accidents.

How should they approach this topic?...

While Coral was able to calm down a little having now stopped crying. She was still ashamed with what had happened which left the question. 'How to deal with this' as the normal option didn't seem to be helping much. Effina didn't know how to handle a situation like this as it was the first time she'd seen Coral to this. Plus with the fact that being female didn't really help matter either as she'd like to act on her 'Papa' duties but with Lucine around that'd cause a whole mess of new problems.

"Um..." Effina finally said.

She was still trying to think of something to say.

Unsure of how to deal with children's toileting problems, Effina kept quiet on the whole matter and deferred to Lucine, who likely had a great deal more experience in the matter from her upbringing, regardless of how fewer years she had in comparison to Effina's actual age. Effina also didn't want to act too fatherly otherwise she'll blow her cover and likely meet the fiery wrath of Lucine.

Lucine puzzled over options while stroking Coral's head. Eventually, she pulled herself away from Coral, placed her hands on both of the young girl's shoulders and looked Coral directly in the eye. Strangely, Lucine's face was turning a pale shade of pink as she looked into Coral's eyes...

Suddenly, Lucine leaned forwards and kissed Coral on her left cheek, hugging the girl she as did so. Coral was, of course, slightly bemused by the seemingly random action. However...

"Big Sis...are you...?" Coral questioned before Lucine simply nodded, her face turning a deeper shade of pink.

"It's okay to pee in the shower." Lucine confirmed. "Just don't pee in the bath, as bathwater stays. Shower water, on the other hand, gets washed away. Also, don't pee on other people. I know you probably got a little too overexcited and didn't realise you were doing it."

Empathy through action, it seemed, was Lucine's way. Curious as to whether the conversation held credibility, Effina decided to shoot a quick glance down towards Lucine's treasure. Sure enough, a pale yellow stream of her own was splattering down onto the cubicle's floor to be sucked into the drain with the runoff water. Lucine's bladder release lasted for just over a quarter of a minute, but it was enough to cheer up Coral.

"So, Big Sis isn't mad at Coral? Coral didn't do anything wrong?" Coral asked Lucine.

"No, I'm not mad at you. I couldn't be mad at you. You're still learning the ways of this world, so it's okay if you mess up and don't understand things." Lucine confirmed.

While Lucine handled things with Coral for the moment Effina. Washed the remainder of her body down with soap and water. While Lucine appeared to have a small accident in the shower as well this had cheered Coral up some. "Your Big Sis is right." Effina said. Now having started to wash her hair which. Was a handful as she had never had this much hair to wash before.

Once Coral was back to her regular self, the girls cleaned themselves down and finished up in the shower. Coral's bladder emptied once more near the end of the shower, but she'd managed to notice it this time and positioned herself over the drain so it washed away instantly. This wasn't normal for Coral, that's for sure. Perhaps there was more to learn about Dragons which Effina hadn't come across before?

When they'd finished, they dried themselves down and headed back to Zena's room. Lucine had to hold Coral's towel in place around her, otherwise the young Dragon would've likely removed it the first moment she got. Back in Zena's room, Lucine and Coral got dressed into comfortable clothes and began to head downstairs for the evening meal.

Once the whole episode in the shower was finished and they had all. Dried off they headed back to Zena's room where Lucine and Coral had dressed into comfortable clothes. Effina looked around for a set that had been laid out for her. Finding something she put the clothes on and went with the others downstairs for the meal of the evening,

The trio, once they'd finished dressing after their shower, headed downstairs for the evening meal. The Green Haired girl was nowhere to be seen, so she was likely picked up by her Big Brother as the girls were taking their shower. The usual meal for two was quickly replaced by a meal for eight due to all the others present. It had a good variation of all the food groups to make a healthy balanced meal and was seasoned with fragrant herbs and spices.

One everyone was seated, the buffet of food began to be picked from by all the diners around the large table. Lucine obviously sat as far away from Zena as she could, and the feeling was mutual for the other party as well. Coral slotted herself in between Freya and Effina, leaving Syl, Willow and Lucine to fill a table end.

Effina took an empty beside Coral and whoever sat on her right side. Once everyone was seated they began to take what they wanted from what was on the table. Effina helped herself to a little of this and that. While making sure Coral had a good amount as well. She then took a moment to think about how to handle herself during dinner.

Effina believed she'd have to engage in fine dining, and began to think about how to carry herself during the meal. However, the actual act itself wasn't exactly what someone would expect from the ruler of a Nation. Of course, basic table manners were present, but it was more of a relaxed family meal than an uptight regal dinner.

Much like the house he lived in, Duke Trent was no different from the regular citizens of Argenta. There were no 'fine dining' cutlery usage. Spoons were spoons and forks were forks, they weren't split based on what stage of the meal the people were at. All of that worrying for nothing. As expected Coral blended right in with 'normalcy' and acted like a child her age would.

Effina helped herself to some of this and that. As the various foods were past around the table for everyone to try. While Effina ate her meal she went on to ask Tone a question. "Just curious is all but you wouldn't be hungry would you?" Effina asked. She didn't know if Tone could eat or not being a spirit and all.

During the course of the meal, Effina remembered that there was another, less corporeal, guest in the house. When this realisation dawned on her, she asked if said guest wanted food.

"Oh, so now you remember that I'm here after so freely stuffing your face?" Tone remarked in her usual way. "I don't need to eat to live, unlike you, but I still like taking part in the act of doing so."

Even with that knowledge, it wouldn't exactly be easy to allow an invisible entity to begin picking food up without causing an incredible commotion. In addition, saving food might not be an easy task either.

Effina was left with the task of either letting Tone take some food. Or trying to save some for later which didn't look to be an easy task.

"Would you rather I just left you in Zena's room alone?" Effina countered.

She went back to eating her food.

Effina threatened Tone with solitude.

"I don't mind being alone, but I'd rather not go intruding into people's private spaces without their permission. I'm not you, after all." Tone countered. "Although, if you're that desperate to get rid of me, I could go into her room and then raid her underwear drawers, and blame the whole thing on you. It won't be hard to get some incriminating evidence to put you in the hotseat."

The rest of the meal went by uneventfully, with Tone snatching up some of Effina's food when the others weren't looking.

"You'd like that wouldn't you to see me getting into trouble?" Effina asked. She took notice of how some of her food was disappearing at random. The rest of the meal went by like normal and everyone began to clear things up. Effina helped out with the cleaning and once it was all done went over to Duke Trent.

"Is it okay that we talk in private?"

"It would be a break from the monotony of watching you trying to be a girl and failing miserably. You should be thankful that they're so oblivious, otherwise your little facade would have been broken ages ago. I'd like to see how you look barbecued." Tone answered.

Once the meal was finished, everyone helped clean up and got the whole task done in just under half an hour. When everything was packed away and the guests started filing off to spend their evenings, Effina requested a private conversation with Duke Trent.

"I guess so, but I don't think business deals will go smoothly when you look like one of Zena's classmates." Duke Trent answered. "That is, believing that you are, indeed, who you claim to be. This whole thing seems really confusing to me, still."

"I'm sure you'd do just as bad if you were trying to be a boy!" Effina countered.

Once the meal was finished she helped clean up. Before requesting to speak with Duke Trent who still was confused about the whole matter. Of Elthin being a girl as he still didn't know to believe her or not.

"For starters I can tell you that before I left to visit the ruins. I showed you my sword and told you a little bit about it's history we even had a nice little chat about it." Effina said trying to help Duke Trent believe who she said she was.

"You're right. I'm far too cute, dainty and delicate to pass as the semi-evolved ape called a 'Male'." Tone retaliated, a mocking hint evident in her choice of words.

Effina decided to ignore trying to bait Tone any further, as she seemed to have a comeback for anything Effina could throw at her. Instead, she turned her full efforts towards trying to convince Duke Trent that she wasn't just some random schoolchild playing pretend as a Lord. Her explanation and reasoning, however, weren't exactly too convincing.

"Anyone could've gotten that kind of vague information" Duke Trent answered. "You really need to work on trying to validate things. However, from my knowledge on Dragonkind, despite how limited it may be, Coral wouldn't have been that comfortable with you if you weren't someone she deemed to be her brood."

Coral's clingy behaviour saved a good deal of hassle, it seemed. Even though the identity problem may have been cleared up, there was still Effina's physical appearance which posed some problem...

"Why, don't you ask me something only I would know and no one else would know?" Coral had saved some of Effina's problems but there was still. Her appearance which did cause a lot of problems and really needed to get used to just being around. She followed along after the Duke until they were alone in a private room.

Effina suggested something which would've worked, had Duke Trent known Elthin for more than just the few days they had.

"I can't really say I know you well enough to be able to do that." Duke Trent admitted. "Anyway, I'm going to trust in Coral's intuition and believe you're the real deal."

Effina, still in her schoolchild appearance, began to follow Duke Trent to one of the converted rooms of the house. Judging by the size of it, and the appearance, the room was likely used for storage of archaic cleaning materials, like washboards, clothes horses, washbasins and clothes presses, which were often used decades ago before Magitech was released to the world. However, this room had been refitted to serve as a makeshift office and document storage room. The actual office room of this house had likely been turned into a workshop or a drafting room for inventions.

Effina had to hop up a little to properly sit on the high chairs opposite the table, but she managed to get on one. Although, her feet didn't quite touch the floor when she was seated. Duke Trent occupied the slightly more fancy looking single chair on the other side of the table, and had his back to the bookshelves of documents.

"So, ah...whatever I had planned for you to do tomorrow will likely have to wait a little. I can't exactly have someone who looks like a student teaching the class about Magic." Duke Trent began. "Not to mention how crazy Naru would get if the girl she tried to strip was suddenly teaching her class."

Effina sat in one of the large chairs after having to hop up onto it. She took the time to look around the room slowly. "She, already tried to strip me down which was something I hated." Effina said. That memory was still fresh in her mind "I can only agree with you on that everyone would be expecting someone older not someone so young as myself."

Effina leaned back in the chair "How many people other than yourself knew about the location of the ruins?" Effina asked. She thought back to the brief glimpse of the person she had seen in the ruins before passing out.

Effina agreed about the harrowing memory of nearly being sexually assaulted, despite how she commonly thinks about doing that kind of thing to the young girls she's around. She also had a feeling that looking like a child would not help her in a teaching role.

"Although, it's not unheard of to have youthful looking people actually being way older than they are. Take the Animalia, for example. They all look rather young for their age, but they're physically way older than we are most of the time." Duke Trent continued. "I'm sure you've also heard of the continent of Eternum? The Women there never seem to age past a certain point, no matter how old they get. That's probably where they got their nickname from, 'The Eternal Children'."

Effina asked if anybody else had any knowledge besides Duke Trent, the Miners and Effina herself, on the location of the entrance to the ruins.

"Aside from the Miners who found it, I'd say nobody else even knows it's there. As soon as the entrance was found, people were forbidden from going anywhere near it for their own safety." Duke Trent confirmed. "However, I can't promise that some thrill seekers may have ignored the Safety Precautions and gone hunting anyway, though I doubt they would've found anything more than the sealed door."

"I've only heard bits and pieces about it, but I know many people wish to visit there." Effina said. There was a time and place in the past where she had wished to visit there. Just the chance of being able to set foot there let alone see what sort of ruins were there. Was something she just couldn't wait to try.

Duke Trent spoke of who knew about the Ruins.

"Well, who ever else knew about it was shadowing me, they waiting until. I got past the door and followed behind me inside. I believe they were after something located deeper inside the ruins. Whatever that is I don't know."

Effina explained that someone had tailed her into the ruins for some reason.

"That is somewhat of a problem." Duke Trent agreed. "They were likely waiting with intent to gain entrance, but were unsure of how to. So, they possibly waited for someone foolhardy enough to try and get in to open the entrance and allow them in with no cost. I take it the Sealed Door is behind your current...appearance?"

"Yes the sealed door is behind my current appearance." Effina said. "To make matters worse they also appeared to know quite a bit about me I only. Know a few people who would know the full truth about who I am."

Effina confirmed that her current appearance was due to the effects of the Sealed Door. She also explained that the person who was tailing her seemed to know about her.

"That doesn't quite add up when you think about it." Duke Trent commented. "Can you explain what they seemed to know about you? I mean, unless you were a target for some kind of Assassins Guild, then, unless you've been screaming your personal information around town, nobody will know about you."

"The only thing I can say they knew about me was that I was a prince. That's not something I go around telling everyone only a few people know that truth." Effina told him.

She tried to think of anything else she could tell Duke Trent about her mysterious attacker. "The person was wearing black children's dress shoes and appeared to have different colored fingers nails on their hand. For example one was striped black and yellow and another was teal."

Effina explained that her attacker apparently knew that she was a Prince, even though, as Tone had said before, that could've just been a chat-up line. It turned out Duke Trent thought the very same thing.

"Are you certain that they weren't just trying to flirt with you?" Duke Trent suggested. "They may have thought that, despite your...appearance, you were the perfect 'Prince' for them. Some people have strange tastes, take Naru for example."

"At least someone in this room has brains aside from me." Tone interjected.

Effina followed on to explain about her attacker's method of operation.

"Unless they were a very small adult, we can safely assume that you were stalked by a child." Duke Trent summarised.

"A full grown man, done in by a little child." Tone taunted.

"As for the different coloured nails, they either had an unusual fixation on nail polish, or they used a special kind of polish formulated similar to that of poison." Duke Trent continued. "It's not strange for Assassin's Guilds to employ people with easily concealed weaponry to bypass law enforcement in populated areas."

Putting all the information together, Duke Trent came to a conclusion.

"From what you've said so far: You were followed by a child into the ruins. This child had painted their nails in different colours, which may be used as a form of poison or toxin. You couldn't get much information about them aside from their nails and the fact they were in Children's shoes.

"We don't really have a lot to go on, and we can't exactly search every child in the city without causing a whole mountain of trouble. In addition, we don't know where they are now, or even if they are still in the city."

"Why, would they want to flirt with a girl like me?" Effina asked. Clearly confused she understood what Duke Trent was saying but the thought of a girl hitting on her. If the strange attack was female filled Effina with an odd feeling.

"Oh, be quiet." Effina told Tone.

Duke Trent spoke more on what likely the attack had done and Tone spoke again.

"Well, they did reward me with something I'd rather not talk about." she blushed at those lewd thoughts. "Perhaps they might show up again at some point, but as you pointed out who's to stay if they are still here."

"Perhaps because they knew you weren't a girl to begin with?" Duke Trent suggested. "If they did follow you to the entrance of the ruins, then they'd know you were a man before the door did its thing."

"Do you even listen to yourself, let alone other people?" Tone chided. "You said so yourself that they followed you into the ruins! They'd know you're a pretty boy and not a little girl."

Effina's admittance of being rewarded for some reason attracted interest.

"Wait, am I missing something here?" Duke Trent questioned, confused by the sudden information. "You were rewarded? For what?"

"More then likely you are right about that." Effina sighed. It hurt more when Tone had to speak up about it.

"I don't need to reminding me about that."

Duke Trent wanted to know what she meant.

"Yes, I was rewarded for opening the door which saved them sometime. Don't ask me what the reward was as I rather not talk about it."

Effina knew she'd dropped herself in it when she mentioned the 'Reward' she was given for her services. However, she was incredibly cagey about the type of reward she received. Yet, of course, Tone had a rough idea as she saw the aftereffects of said reward.

"I don't think an Assassin would reward with anything but a swift and painless death." Duke Trent mused. "So, that rules out the Assassin theory. The more we think about this, the less we actually know..."

"If I could just talk to him..." Tone grumbled quietly. "I'd tell him that perverted reward you got which made you soak the floor."

"I know it sounds rather weird when you think about it. Why would an Assassin reward someone when they normally would just kill them?" Effina asked. Tone wished she could speak to him abot telling him just what the reward Effina had gotten was.

"You're not telling him anything!" Effina warned Tone.

Effina also didn't know why an Assassin would reward someone rather than kill them.

"Perhaps they still have some use for you?" Duke Trent suggested.

It did sound like Effina was needed, until...

"They might need a Lemming for the other Ruins." Duke Trent, and surprisingly Tone, simultaneously concluded.

"It's not everyday you find someone foolhardy enough to forcibly blast open sealed doors for ancient ruins." Duke Trent continued. "It would make sense for them to not want to risk it themselves and leave it to another poor, unfortunate person to take the brunt of it."

"If they do I have no idea of what it could be."Effina said with a shrug.

Duke Trent then added onto something.

"What other ruins?" Effina asked, As she listened to what was being said. "I don't really plan on going around blasting open anymore doors. I don't want something else to happen to me like I turn into slug or something."

Effina wanted to know about the other Ruins Duke Trent mentioned.

"The ones in the Desert, for starters." Duke Trent replied. "And another sealed door in the back of one of our Factories. However, I don't think anyone would be blasting open a door that strong. The thing's made from Adamantine Alloy, nothing can break that stuff. The only method of opening it we can find is a strange device on the side of the door which accepts something small, thin and metallic, like what we call Key Cards."

"Oh, so it's a Restricted Access Door?" Tone commented. "As expected from Factories. Must be either an old Weapons Factory, or something much more Top Secret. We should find a way in. There might be something really good in there. Go on, ask to see this Factory door! Do it now!"

Duke Trent mentioned more about the ruins and another sealed door. "I don't know when I'll even be visiting those ones though I should take someone else along if I do go to those." At the mention of the sealed door Tone spoke up about wanting to see the door.

"Now, why do you suddenly want to go inside, the place might have something inside. Or are you only doing this for another reason?" Effina asked.

Effina decided to follow Tone's advice for not at least.

"Would it be possible if I could see this door?"

Effina remained tentative about visiting the other Ruins, which was very much unlike her usual self.

"Was one bad encounter enough to break your treasure hunter's spirit?" Duke Trent questioned. "You were all for visiting Ruins earlier. Why the sudden reluctance?"

Effina was a little annoyed towards Tone's sudden burning desire to see this Sealed Adamantine Door in the factory.

"Well, of course, Captain Obvious!" Tone sarcastically countered. "They wouldn't put so many security measures on an empty room, now, would they? A near unbreakable door locked with a Key Card practically screams something of high value is inside. If we can get in there, we might find something really, really great."

Eventually, Effina gave in to Tone's demands and requested to be shown to this sealed door.

"It's getting kind of late, are you sure you can't wait until tomorrow morning to see it?" Duke Trent asked.

"Am just trying to be cautious that's all." Effina said. She was a little bit afraid of having something similar or worse happening to her again. As this was the first time something like this had happened to her.

Tone replied once more.

"Wouldn't know until I saw the door." Effina told the overbearing book. "Maybe something of value is inside that locked room like a weapon or your real body who knows."

The door was asked about.

"I can wait until tomorrow,"

"Caution and adventure don't really go together, though." Duke Trent answered. "If we were cautious, we'd never discover anything new, as we would be too reluctant to go to uncharted territory."

Effina suggested that a Weapon or Tone's real body could be lock away behind the sealed factory door.

"As if my body would be behind there." Tone shot back. "In case you were unaware, I'm not from around here, so my body wouldn't be here. A weapon is likely what it is."

Effina wished to rest for the evening before checking out this other door.

"Humans and their weaknesses..." Tone complained quietly.

"Okay, that's settled then. Did you have any other things you wanted to ask about, or can we call this meeting to a close?" Duke Trent asked.

"Maybe I'm just a little nervous." Effina admited.

Tone shot back some remarks.

"Whatever weapon it is I bet that small child will show up again."

Tone then complained again, and Effina smacked the book for a moment. Which was in her pocket not liking Tone's attitude. "Stop complaining or you won't ever see the door!."

Duke Trent wanted to know it that was all for now.

"I believe that's all for now, I want to see how the little ones are doing."

Effina suggested she was nervous, and that's why she was unwilling to explore anymore at the moment.

"You'll get over it when you get your actual body back." Duke Trent answered.

Effina took Tone's first complaint as being legit and believed that her assailant will likely turn up again.

"Just don't get too excited. I doubt she'll hit you with that Euphoric whatever she used before." Tone countered.

Effina had enough of Tone's complaining when she claimed humans were weak, so Effina slapped the book...somewhere.

"OW! You pervert! You just molested my chest!" Tone retaliated.

Thankfully, Effina was keeping Duke Trent talking so he didn't notice that she had slapped an ancient relic like it was a carpet for dusting.

"Freya's likely getting ready to put them to bed." Duke Trent suggested as he got up from the table and headed towards the door. "We should probably stick to our original sleeping plans for you, in case you...turn back to normal in the middle of a room full of girls. I'm not sure Zena or your feisty one will take that well."

"I'd just like to get it back soon." Effina stated.

Tone spoke about their little friend from before.

"If only I knew where that stuff came from it'd be great to use on someone I know."

The thought of using that Euphonric on Naru brought a smile to her face.

Tone then complained about where Effina had slapped her but Effina ignored it,

"I had wanted to speak with Zena before bed, oh well it can wait until tomorrow." Effina said. She followed Duke Trent to the door and then out it letting him lead the way to Effina's own room.

Effina expressed an interest in the Euphoric Tranquilliser that the potential Assassin used on her.

"Oh, sure, why not just ask them for the recipe next time you see them. I'm sure they'll be more than welcome to give you it." Tone answered with extreme sarcasm. "Get real, dick for brains. Think with your head, not your cock."

Once the meeting was concluded, Effina and Duke Trent left the meeting room and headed upstairs to join the others.

"It won't be lights out for her yet, so, if you're quick with changing, you may get to speak with her a little before she goes to bed." Duke Trent explained as they headed up the stairs. "Freya's taken the room next to Zena's, just in front of the stairs. The others, including your two, will be sharing Zena's room."

The way Tone had responded back to Effina struck a nerve she didn't say anything at first. She followed Duke Trent upstairs. "Where is my room?" Effina asked thinking it over about speaking with Zena this would be her only chance to ask the sort of questions she wanted to ask her. "I'll change very quick and see if I can speak with her."

After Duke Trent had shown Effina to her room and they parted. Effina took out Tone's book and placed it upon the bed. She rose her fist into the nearly and felt like driving it down into the book as hard as she could. But something stopped her from doing just that, and instead she finally replied back.

"One more word like that out of you and I won't be held accounted for what happens to this book."

Once Effina headed off to change in her assigned room, she acted upon the jab that Tone made against her.

"I wouldn't advise you do anything to the book." Tone countered, actually taking on her semi-physical form and sitting on the bed next to her Vessel. "If you paid attention in your Magic Lessons, you'd know that Vessels carry Wards far beyond a simple Baleful Polymorph spell. Strike it with malice, and it will strike you back...ten times as hard."

Effina now remembered that all Vessels were Warded far beyond even advanced Magician levels. All of them had several contingencies and reaction glyphs and marks etched into the spells which bound the Spirit to the Vessel. Hitting one will not be a pleasant experience, for the one doing it or for those in the nearby vicinity.

"Also, hitting my physical form, if you can call it that, will just end up with you falling straight through me. I can control my form's mass and solidity without even a thought."

Effina lowered her fist back to her side as Tone spoke back to her.

"To you enjoy acting the way you do around others?" Effina asked. Seeing as how Tone was now sitting on her bed in a limited fashion. She sighed and went about getting changed into her pajamas which had been set aside for her. Once that was done she looked at Tone's vessel.

"I don't know if I was blessed or cursed with finding you. Maybe one day we will look back on this stuff and laugh our asses off."

Effina then took the book and placed it amongst her stuff. Not wanting someone to come into the room and take the book by mistake. She left the room and heading towards Zena's where she knocked on the door.

Effina decided to keep her anger in check and not lash out at the potentially dangerous book. Instead, she asked if the one bound to the book enjoyed acting as she did.

"It bring me mild entertainment." Tone brushed the question aside. "It gets boring being bound to an object with no one to chastise."

Effina then changed out of her current clothes and put her sleepwear on. She then pondered on whether it was a boon or a detriment to find Tone's Vessel.

"I keep telling you that you can just leave me aside and sever the connection. That way, I'll be free from you and you wouldn't have to put up with me." Tone explained. "You're just fixed on that fact that my Vessel happens to be an object from the Old World."

Effina left Tone after hiding her Vessel and headed over to speak to Zena. Knocking on the door was met with no response until the girl in question opened it. It took her a moment to recognise who the 'stranger' at her door was.

"Oh, you're still here?" Zena questioned, unsure of why Effina was still in the house. "Um..who are you, again?"

"PAPA!" Coral burst past Zena and dived on Effina, hugging her closely. "Will you be sleeping with us?"

Zena opened the door and question who Effina was again. As Coral ran past her and dived onto Effina giving her a hug.

"I'm Effina".

She patted Coral on the head for a couple of moments. "No, I was given my own room for the night." Effina told Coral. She looked back over at Zena and asked a question to her. "I just came by to ask if you still wished to talk?"

Effina introduced herself again and Zena just gave a slight nod, still looking a little lost about it all. Effina then explained to the hyperactive Dragonling that they won't be sharing a room.

"Why not?" Coral questioned, sounding like a child who'd just been denied something they wanted.

Finally, given a free moment to explain why she was there, Effina asked if Zena was still up for a chat.

"It'll be a little cramped with everyone in there, but I guess we could talk some before bed." Zena replied. "Come in and find a place to sit."

Coral wanted to know why Effina wouldn't share a room. She leaned closer to the young dragonling and whispered to her. "It'd cause a lot of problems if I just happened to change back to the real me. While sharing a room with everyone,"

Effina soon entered into Zena's room and decided to look around to see what was inside. As she tried to find an empty spot to sit.

Effina whispered to Coral why it wouldn't be wise for them to share a room.

"What's so bad about that?" Coral asked, unconvinced that Effina was using valid reasoning.

Effina was allowed in the sacred space of a girl's room and began to do the first thing any healthy male who managed to infiltrate such a Nirvana would do, that being look around as much as possible and soak in all the details they could for 'reference' material.

Zena's room was, in short, the epitome of a Girl's room. It was full of bright pinks, white and golds, with stuffed toys on shelves and some by the side of her pillow. Her room was kept neat and tidy, which was a great boon due to how many people she was having to accommodate for this evening. Her wardrobe had all her clothes neatly hung up inside of it and there wasn't a single piece of clothing on the floor.

Lucine, Syl and Willow were currently sitting on cushions on the floor around a glass bottle in the middle of the circle of five cushions, two of which were empty at present.

"Just slot yourself in between whoever you can." Zena informed Effina. "Although, with how attached that girl is to you, I think you should sit next to her, just to keep her happy."

If Zena meant Coral as 'that girl', then Effina could place herself to Coral's right, which would put her next to Lucine, or Coral's left to be next to Syl.

Coral didn't understand why it wasn't wise to share a room together.

"I don't want to cause I huge mess of things, if I return to being a male in this room. Zena and the other's will beat me up and never forgive me." Effina whispered.

After entering into the room she gave it a look around. And saw that the others were busy sitting on cushions with a glass bottle in the middle. Effina wasn't sure what the bottle was for and then took a seat beside Coral and next to Lucine.

"What are you guys up to?"

Effina tried again to explain that sleeping in a room full of girls would end in bloodshed. And not the girls' blood.

"Oh...okay..." Coral replied.

Effina then slotted herself between Coral and Lucine, who had to budge up a little to make room for one more in the circle. Curious as to what the strange seating arrangement around a bottle was for, Effina asked what the group was up to before the disruption.

"Playing 'Spin the Bottle'." Lucine explained. "Anyway, I take it you're staying the night, then?"

Lucine explained the game they were all playing. Effina had heard of the game but had never actually played it.

"Yes, how does one play this game?" Effina asked.

While sitting next to Coral she gave her a pat on the head.

Effina asked the others how to play 'Spin the Bottle'. At first, she was met with a mixture of shocked and confused gazes from everyone except Coral.

"How can you **not** know how to play 'Spin the Bottle?!" Zena questioned, breaking the stunned silence. "Just what do you normally do with friends?"

"Maybe she doesn't have any friends?" Syl quietly suggested, a hint of empathy in her voice.

Perhaps not the best way to blend in with pre-teen girls... Nonetheless, Coral was there to explain where the others couldn't.

"We take it in turns to spin the bottle and whomever the top of the bottle points to has to answer a question asked to them." Coral began. "The spinner of the bottle asks if the one the bottle pointed to wants to answer a truth about themselves, or take something called a 'Dare'."

One explanation later and everyone was ready to play once more. It was decided that, as she was a new entrant to the game, Effina should spin the bottle this time.

Everyone was shocked and confused by what Effina had said all expect Coral. "I've never had the chance before, I mainly spend most of my time alone, I've led a sheltered life." Effina told everyone.

Coral went on to explain how the game was played. It was simple enough to understand and do, but she couldn't help wonder on how this was going to play out for her. She would either have to make things up or reveal small bits and pieces of her past in half truths.

Effina gave the bottle a spin and it landed on Syl.

"Truth or dare?"

Effina explained that she'd led a sheltered life and didn't have any chance to play games. The silence filled the room again, more out of sympathy than shock.

Thankfully, everyone was willing to allow Effina to join in with their game and gave her the first spin of the new six-person game group. Effina's spin resulted on the bottle landing on Syl.

"Truth, I guess." Syl answered.

The room was silent when she had told everyone about having lived a sheltered life. After which once she spun the bottle it had landed on Syl. Who picked 'truth' this gave her a chance to learn a little more about the small girl. As she thought over what to ask she looked around the room at everyone.

This was mainly just to see what the other girl's were wearing. She then finally came up with a question for Syl to answer.

"What's your favorite color?"

During the sympathy silence, Effina finally realised that she was a Male in a room full of Girls that 'he' often thought about. If this wasn't a free ticket to check out girls in their natural habitat with all their usual defences down, then, when 'Effina' becomes Elthin once more, it would likely be a revoking of his Man Card.

Wanting to cherish this opportunity while she still could, Effina checked out each girl's chosen sleep attire. One. At. A. Time.

Effina's glance first fell on the girl that had been at the forefront of her mind for a while. Zena had chosen for a cute, but casual, t-shirt and shorts combo for her sleepwear. Her t-shirt was a pastel pink with a 'Magical Makki' design on the front. Much like Syl had explained it earlier, Magical Makki was a typical pre-teen girl's magical girl show, and the design confirmed that. Effina had seen this design before on the bag that the Green Haired girl from earlier had on her once she left the store. This was a Limited Edition front cover for a book volume! Zena must've been a fan to have this. Zena's shorts were also the same pastel pink as her top, and had Magical Makki's staff design down each side of the legs. Looking a little closer...wasn't Zena's shorts a little baggy? Most girls don't wear baggy sleep shorts, unless they were tomboys. However, looking at Zena's room, she was far from being a tomboy.

Effina's next victim was the quiet Syl. Syl had bought along of her silky nightdresses. It had cute frilled accents around each armhole in a deep grey. The base colour of her nightdress was, much like her hair, silver. The front of her dress had small black buttons in the shape of flowers down the upper half of her dress. The bottom hem of her dress ended in the same frills as were on her armholes. If she positioned herself just right...Effina might be able to...however, Syl would have to change her sitting position as well. But, considering only girls were present, the usually reserved Syl may just lose her usual caution...

Effina's undressing gaze fell on Willow, whom was right next to Syl. Akin to her usual boisterous demeanour, Willow had gone for a short sleeved t-shirt and a pair of three-quarter length trousers. They had no special designs on them, likely more for utility than vanity, and were a plain forest green. The only girlish thing about them were the hems at the base of the sleeves, trousers and shirt. The hems had small heart-shaped cutouts on them. Not exactly feminine like the previous two, but undoubtedly not boyish either. Somewhere in the middle, just like Willow herself.

Effina wasn't too shocked when she saw Coral's outfit, which was nothing more than a baggy t-shirt, likely borrowed from Duke Trent, and a spare set of baggy black sleep shorts from Zena's other sleep set. The t-shirt was a plain white, function over form once more, but was obviously more like a dress on Coral than a shirt. When she bent forward, like she often did when playing and talking to people, nothing under the shirt was hidden. Whoever was looking at her could see her completely bare chest without anything covering it at all. Effina was shocked that she didn't notice such a thing before, when Coral first pounced on her at the door. Coral's shorts, as well, hid nothing if someone was looking down the legs of them, considering Coral was a little smaller than Zena.

Finally, Effina left the (potential?) best until last. The final girl on the perv list was none other than Lucine. Like the front she put on, Lucine's sleepwear was as 'mature' as she wanted to be seen to be. She never wore something like this back at home when Elthin was around, but being in a room full of girls, with no Elthin in sight, she'd gone for a provocative red lacy baby-doll, as fiery as her hair in colour. Aside from the lacy frills along the straps, across her breast and at the base, the baby-doll was evidently translucent, showing her tanned skin in all its steamy glory with a slight red lace over it. Even her underwear, a matching lacy red pair of panties with a black bow on the front, could easily be seen through her top. Unless Elthin wanted to be sent to COG HQ with a permanent 'registered offender' stamp put on him, it was probably best to not walk in on Lucine when she was at a girl's sleepover. Slum girls sure do mature fast, scarily so.

With all these images saved to her memory bank for later 'viewing', Effina continued the game they were playing. After spinning the bottle and having it land on Syl, Effina asked what the girl's favourite colour was.

"Um, I don't really have a favourite colour." Syl admitted. "However, if I had to choose one, I'd say Silver. But, that's more of a shade than a colour."

Syl then spun the bottle to have it land on...

Coral!

"Dare!" Coral perked up without a second thought, leaning towards the bottle, showing all girls in front of her a full view of her bare chest. Effina, on the other hand, being behind Coral, could see up the young girl's shorts to discover that...

...Coral was going commando! Well, no surprise there. It was like hard enough to just get the clothes on her, let alone any underwear.

"I dare you to kiss one of the people here. On the cheek!" Syl dared Coral. Quite a bold dare for a normally quiet girl. Of course, Coral went straight to Effina and planted a kiss on her right cheek, followed by a small lick of affection.

"Boring!" Coral complained back to Syl once the dare was over. "I want something more fun next time!"

It was then Coral's turn to spin the bottle to have it land on...

Effina!

"Truth or Dare!" Coral commanded with childish enthusiasm.

Everyone one of the girl's appeared to be dressed quite differently. Yet when she looked upon Lucine she was the wore the most outlandish choice of sleepwear amongst all the girls. Effina didn't let her gaze settle on Lucine for long, But she did like what she was wearing and made mental notes for later viewing,

As the game went on Syl said she liked the color silver before. The bottle was spun again landing on Coral who picked Dare. Who leaned forward this gave Effina the view of up Coral's shorts seeing her going commando. Wasn't something that Effina found exciting he'd seen his daughter naked before and having weird thoughts or staring at Coral like any male would was wrong.

Coral was asked to kiss someone in the room she choose Effina and kissed her. Followed by a lick of affection. The bottle was then spun agai and it landed on Effina.

"Dare'.

Due to seeing it so much, and having it be her own 'daughter'. Effina managed to retain her lust when looking up the baggy legs of Coral's shorts to see the bare treasure that lay beneath. She'd been desensitised to it from all the previous experiences she'd had seeing something like that. It was...unusual for her.

Effina requested a Dare when the bottle landed on her.

"Coral dares you to..." Coral started as a smile began to creep across her face. "...sit on Big Sis's lap for the rest of the game!"

"Don't I get a say in this?!" Lucine protested. "She's nearly as big as me!"

"Rules are rules, and Coral knows the rules." Coral countered, pouting at the retort.

Coral's dare for Effina was to sit upon Lucine's lap. For the remainder of the game Effina got up and moved over to Lucine.

"Rules are rules." Effina said.

She then went to sit down on the girl's lap. Feeling Lucine's bare skin it felt soft and smooth however Effina wiggled around a little to girl a good seat.

Next she went to spin the bottle and watched as it spun around and landed upon Zena.

"Truth or dare?"

Accepting the fate of a cushion, Lucine couldn't deny the rules of the game otherwise she'd just look like a sore loser. Effina moved over to sit on Lucine's lap, feeling the softness of her body against her own. The scent of the shower gel that she'd used to wash up with still remained on her.

"You're heavier than you look, you know that?" Lucine complained.

From her new perch, Effina spun the bottle and it landed on Zena, who bravely declared:

"Truth."

Once Zena's Truth was given, she spun the bottle to have it land on...

Syl! Again.

"Truth." Syl decided.

"Do you have a crush on anyone?" Zena questioned with a smile. Typical girly question.

"No, can't say I do." Syl simply answered, unaffected by the question.

The next spin landed on...

Effina or...Lucine?

"I'll do it this time, you can go on the next one." Lucine informed Effina. "Dare." She confidently declared to Syl.

"I dare you to...hug Effina while she's on your lap!" Syl ordered Lucine.

"What is this? Some kind of courting game for us two?"

Giving in to the game rules, Lucine placed her arms around Effina's waist to hug her. This made Coral smile a bit, probably because she was thinking that 'Papa' and 'Big Sis' were finally getting along...somewhat.

The next victim was...

Coral!

"Dare!" Coral excitedly requested.

"I dare you to...use Zena's lap as a pillow!" Lucine commanded, causing Coral to pout and huff once more.

"Boring!"

Without a second thought, Coral squeezed in between Syl and Zena to place her head on Zena's lap.

"Oh...soft." Coral commented. "Both legs and girl parts."

Zena evidently blushed at the carefree Dragon's assessment and nearly forced Coral to spin the bottle again to draw the attention away from her.

Coral's spin landed on...

Effina...or Lucine?

"Your turn." Lucine told Effina. "I did the last one."

"Oh, stop complaining or I'll ask Coral to rub up against you again." countered Effina.

Thinking over a question for Zena to answer Effina decided to go with one. That she wished to know the real truth of and this was her only chance to ask this sort of question. "What do you truly think about the person known as Elthin?" Effina asked.

When it was Lucine's turn she had picked dare and was asked by Syl. To hug Effina who did just that this made Effina move a little back on Lucine's lap moving her rear. To just about on stop of Lucine's own crotch area.

Coral was upset with her own dare being boring and spun the bottle. It landed on Effina and it was her turn once more.

"Dare."

Once her dare was given she spun the bottle and it landed on Coral again.

Effina retaliated to the insult-complaint that Lucine had used against her.

"You're only saying that because you want to see it again." Lucine retorted.

The next bottle spin ended in a 'Truth' from Zena. Effina, already having a question in mind, wasted no time getting it out there, much to the shock of Zena.

"That's a rather direct question!" Zena responded, blushing a deep pink. "Pass! Pass!"

Avoiding the question, Zena enacted the 'Pass' rule, which was used whenever someone didn't want to do a Dare or answer a Truth. By 'passing' they're opening themselves up for a Punishment decided by the one who asked the question. As would be expected from a friendly game played by Children, the Punishment couldn't be anything too harsh or too lewd, but aside from those there were no limits.

More rounds were had and Lucine ended up having to hug Effina, who took this opportunity to shuffle across Lucine's lap to sit just above her crotch. Two spins later and Coral's spin landed on Effina again, who requested a Dare.

"Coral dares you to..." Coral started, cooking up another evil plan. "Show everyone your panties!"

"Just what is with this girl?!" Zena questioned, shocked at such bold Dares.

After the dare was concluded, Effina's spin landed on Coral.

"Dare!" Coral declared again. "And make it a good Dare!"

Coral's next spin landed on...

...Willow!

Willow requested a Truth, and Coral decided to ask...

"Do you 'like' like Papa?" Coral asked Willow.

"Guess I like him as a friend. But I don't know him well enough for anything else." Willow simply explained.

Willow's spin landed on Syl, who requested a Dare. Willow's dare to Syl was more of a fetch request for more drinks. It may have been a rather unconventional dare, but Syl didn't mind it in the slightest and briefly left to bring up a few bottles of Fizzy Drinks, a pitcher of water and enough cups for everyone.

Syl's spin landed on...

Effina!

The accuracy of the decision was determined when Lucine had moved to go and fill up a glass with some Cola, leaving only Effina were Lucine was.

"I was just curious to know that's all." Effina replied.

She saw the way Zena was blushing and thought there might be more to it. As Zena passed on answering the question which now gave Effina the chance to punish. Her so Effina went with a rather simple punishment. "For the remainder of the game you're not allowed to where your shorts."

When Coral, came up with a dare for Effina she couldn't help but wonder. Just what was up with all these bold dares she kept requesting. Going through with the dare Effina got up and pulled down her shorts to show everyone her panties. Which just happened to be the color of pure white snow, she showed them off for a few moments. Then pulled up her shorts and sat back down on Lucine's lap as it was her turn to dare Coral.

"I dare you to rub up against Zena like you did in the shower eariler."

The game went on a little more and Willow took a truth and Syl a dare. Drinks were brought in for everyone and the bottle landed on Effina again.

"Truth."

Not quite understanding the boundaries between 'Innocent' and 'Lewd', Effina's punishment to Zena for backing out of the Truth question was for her to remove her shorts for the rest of the game.

"NO WAY!" Zena adamantly declined. "That's just wrong on lots of levels! I know we're all girls here, but going shortsless is just wrong."

"Come to think of it, Coral did call her 'Papa' when she came in..." Syl mused to herself. "Could she really be..."

Suspicions were now fully on Effina as all girls, except Coral, looked upon her with accusatory glares.

"If 'she' is that dirty, perverted old guy, then we'll just burn 'her' to a crisp." Lucine suggested with fiery rage in her eyes.

"Is COG HQ still open now? Shouldn't we call them in to deal with this?" Syl questioned.

"COG's always available to be called, even if their building is closed." Willow confirmed. "What's the punishment for this again? Is it a hefty fine and a restraining order?"

"A fine, a restraining order and 3 months behind bars for a warning." Zena clarified. "Though, without any proof, we can't get anything done."

The situation was momentarily defused due to the lack of proof, however, they were all very alert now for even the slightest inclination that Effina was not truly 'Effina'. **It would likely be best to not arouse suspicion any more than it has been.**

Unsurprisingly, Zena did not remove her shorts, making the punishment null and void. Perhaps such an obvious display of perversion was not a good way to get things done?

The game continued and Effina's Dare to Coral was to rub herself against Zena. Of course, another questionable Dare shortly after the whole 'perverted spy' debacle wasn't well received, yet Coral still went ahead with it anyway. However, she merely just hugged Zena's arm and rubbed her chest up and down against it, as that's all that was allowed by Zena.

From the result of Syl's spin, Effina requested a Truth.

"Why are you so dirty minded?" Syl questioned, still fixed on the perverted dares. "Do you...'feel' things for girls?"

Zena went crazy at what Effina had requested. Who when looking at Lucine who was basically sitting in her underwear kind of. Effina didn't really understand the differance unless Zena wore nothing under her shorts. Everyone then began to believe that Effina was indeed Elthin. Who remained silent and said nothing to make them believe.

Syl next spun the bottle and gave Effina a truth.

"How, can you say I'm dirty minded when I was only, trying to give Coral here a 'dare' that wasn't boring. I do 'feel' things for girl's a little bit if I've crossed the line somewhere I'm sorry."

Effina then spun the bottle and it landed on Lucine.

Effina tried to defend herself when it came to the truth asked of her by Syl. Although, it was pretty obvious where the line between 'fun' and 'perverted' was, and Effina's punishment crossed that line somewhat. Suspicions were still present, but the game resumed.

"Truth." Lucine requested.

Once that was given, Lucine spun the bottle to have it land on Coral. Like normal, Coral requested a Dare. Players were once again moved around as Lucine's dare to Coral was to lie across both Syl and Willow's laps.

Spins continued, and drinks were consumed, until Willow's spin landed on Effina.

"What do you think of Coral here?" Effina asked.

Wanting to know the full truth as to what Lucine's true feelings would be. The game went on with Coral requesting a dare. Then having to lie across both Willow and Syl's laps. When the bottle landed on Effina again she went with a Dare.

After her dare had been given she spun the bottle and it landed on Zena.

For Lucine's truth, Effina wanted to know what she thought about Coral.

"She's needy, obnoxious, annoying and far too hyper." Lucine answered. This, of course, made Coral quite mad. "However, that's just what little sisters are." Lucine concluded. "So, she's just like any normal little sister. Someone who's really annoying, but, because of that, someone who needs looking after by their Big Sister."

The further explanation calmed Coral down a little, but she still looked a little angry at the bluntness of Lucine's statement.

The turns went round and Willow was requested a Dare by Effina, who decided to Dare Effina to go with a 'Truth' the next time the bottle landed on her. How cunning. She'd definitely inherited Freya's cunning nature.

Effina then spun it and the bottle landed on Zena, who also requested a Dare, despite all that had previously happened.

A few more rounds went by and then it came close to the girls' bedtime. The bottle landed on Effina once more, this time spun by Syl. Zena informed the group that, after Syl's Truth or Dare to Effina, Effina's spin will be the last one as they had to go to bed after that.

Willow's dare for Effina was to pick 'Truth' the next time the bottle was spun, An landed on her again later in the game. When Effina's spin of the bottle landed on Zena she picked Dare of all things and Effina told her to hug Lucine.

The game went on a little while longer and it was getting close to bedtime. With the last round of the game played Effina picked 'Truth' when the bottle landed on her.

For her Dare to Zena, Effina realised where the boundary between 'lewd' and 'fun' was and gave Zena the simple dare of hugging Lucine. There was no backlash from this one, it seemed, as Zena complied without complaint and gave Lucine a quick hug.

For the final round of the game, Effina went with Willow's dare and requested a 'Truth'. Syl went with another probing question.

"Although we've never seen you before just a few hours ago, you seem to know every one of us. Are you related to anyone present here?" Syl asked Effina.

Syl's idea of 'Truth' questions seemed to be an intense grilling session for the unfortunate victim, instead of a simple 'get to know them better' moment.

Syl's idea of 'Truth' was trying to see if Effina was related to anyone here. She seemed to be trying to probe another question her way which would link her to Elthin. "Yes I'm related to someone present here." Effina told Syl. She was trying to think up something along the lines as a half truth she could answer later with.

Effina could say she was related to Tone or at worst Elthin himself. Those two answers were sure to draw more questions.

Effina gave a vague answer to Syl's equally as vague question. The rules of the game only allowed a single question to be asked and, as the game had now concluded, Effina had managed to get through it without much incident. Now, all she needed to do was clear out of the bedroom before Coral held her down and kept her there.

"Well, time to stop now." Zena announced as she picked up the bottle they were spinning and placed it on one of the shelves in her room. "Anyone who needs to go toilet should go now so we don't disturb anyone later. There's one just across from this room, and another one downstairs."

Now that the game was over it was time to go to bed. Effina had been feeling the need to use the bathroom and once Zena announced what was to be done. Getting up off the floor she made to exit the room getting to the bathroom ahead of having Coral want her to stay. As she past Zena she said one last thing to her.

"You shouldn't let Naru do those things to you anyone." Effina then left the room and headed to the bathroom. Where she went about her business and soon finished up before heading. To her own room to go to bed.

Effina wanted to leave the room as quickly as possible, but Coral was ready and much closer to the door than she was. Instead of leaving alone, Effina ended up having Coral with her as Syl, accompanied by Willow, went to use the toilet across from Zena's room. She wasn't going to shake Coral now, but the least she could do was accompany her to the toilet downstairs. On her way out, Effina decided to intrude in on Zena's life a little.

"It's none of your concern." Zena countered, politely but firmly.

From that, Effina and Coral headed down the dark staircase towards the toilet in the downstairs hallway. Coral hugged onto Effina's arm the entire way, and had to be removed before Effina could go to the toilet in peace. Coral didn't seem to like being left alone in the dark hallway, with little more than the light leaking out of the bottom of the toilet door breaching that space. There was another, much fainter light, coming from somewhere within the dining room, but it was impossible to discern where it originated from without exploring the room.

All the time Effina was in the toilet, she could tell that Coral was right on the other side of the door, not moving away from the safety of the dim light. Once she had finished, Effina wanted to head straight up the stairs to her assigned room for the night, but Coral wouldn't let her. Effina had to wait outside the toilet, much like Coral had done, while her companion went about her business. Thankfully, Coral didn't take too long and the pair headed up the stairs once more, in the same fashion they had descended.

Depositing Coral off at Zena's room, Effina noticed that both Zena and Lucine were the last to use the toilet before bed. Free from her clingy follower, Effina went back to her bedroom.

Effina wasn't able to go to the restroom allow as Coral. Followed her the whole way hugging onto her arm it would appear that Coral didn't like the dark or just didn't want to be away from her 'papa'. After taking care of her own business Effina waited around for Coral to take care of hers. They both headed upstairs in the same fashion as going down. Dropping off Coral back at Zena's room Effina went back to her own room.

Where once inside she climbed into bed, she had left her door unlocked. Perhaps Coral would try to sneak inside while Effina was asleep so she could sleep with her 'papa'.

When Effina returned to her room, she left the door ajar slightly so, if she wanted to, Coral could sneak in later. Despite how she was adamant before to not allow anyone but Freya to be in the same room as her in case the effect wore off, Effina had just disregarded all that she said before by leaving the door open slightly. Oh well, if it's just Coral who would likely stop by, then it shouldn't be too much trouble, should it?

But as Effina thought about it perhaps leaving the door open. Was a bigger mistake and would cause nothing but major trouble. As if the effect did wear off while she was asleep what if one of the other girl's entered the room. An saw Elithin sleeping with Coral that would get him arrested in a heart beat. So, getting up again Effina went over to the door and closed and locked it then clawed into bed to get some sleep.

Thinking back on just how free with calling in law enforcement the girls were, Effina didn't want to risk having to explain to COG why a twenty-something year old man was sleeping with an eight to ten year old little girl, who was completed naked under what little clothes she was wearing, if she happened to change back overnight. Not wanting to spend a night behind bars (or worse), Effina shut the bedroom door, but didn't lock it as Freya was still not in the bedroom yet. A closed door would likely be enough to dissuade Coral from sneaking in.

Around midnight, Effina was slightly roused from her slumber by Freya coming into the room. Of course, being part hunting cat, it wasn't Freya's movements which roused Effina, but the sound of the door opening and closing. It wasn't enough to fully wake Effina up, but it did draw her attention to something niggling at the back of her mind.

She could sense Coral's unrest, and likely Freya could as well.

Effina remembered that Dragons imprint themselves onto their parents, and can become very distressed if they are away from them for a long while. Effina could even roughly sense Coral's whereabouts, even through two closed doors and several walls. Judging by her position, and that of the sleeping bags in Zena's room, Coral had left her own bag and was snuggled against Lucine in her sleeping bag. She was evidently somewhat scared, but it seemed Lucine's presence had calmed down the previous anxiousness and distress that Coral was feeling. Maybe it was down to Effina's half-asleep state that she could sense this now? Lack of movement in the body can open up the mind to things that it couldn't feel before. At least, that's what Magic Texts explained.

Aside from Coral's plight, Effina could feel something else. She knew this feeling from when Coral allowed her to see those floating orbs of condensed Wrath. Effina could sense a rather large one just above Zena's bed, probably from the girl herself. Zena was likely completely unaware of this bubbling ball of malice, as it didn't feel like a recent creation. It felt older. Old enough to be from when Zena was still 'Human'... strange...

Unconsciously focusing on the Wrath Orb over Zena, Effina drifted off back to sleep, only to find herself, not in her own mind, but that of another's.

Effina was awake and standing around a schoolhouse in a mountainous, but inhabitable, area. She was not in control of her own actions, it seemed, as the situation she was witnessing was going its way without any input from Effina. All she saw at the moment were images, even though people were apparently speaking and going about their days. Effina turned to her right to see a young girl with her and apparently speaking to her as well. The girl was quite cute, by Effina's standards, and looked to be around the age of Lucine, give or take a year or two. She was dressed in regular children's clothes of middle class families. The girl reached out a hand towards Effina, and whomever she was now took the offered hand and headed towards the centre of the area she was in.

From the look of the surroundings, Effina was still in Argenta, considering the amount of mountains and rock faces around her. The housing style, though more rustic, was still done in the Argentian Architect's way. In the distance, Effina could see the Desert which housed Brascus. She must have been close to the border to be able to see it that clearly. The girl took Effina towards the fountain in the centre of the village area she was in and turned to face her once more. Behind the girl, Effina could see a merchant's wagon near the fountain. It looked to be full of..something large. The robed figure near it unsettled Effina, despite how they looked to be just another merchant peddling their wares.

Wait...

No...

Something is off...

Something is clearly amiss...

This can't be...

"So, what shall we play today, Zena?" The girl asked 'Effina', as sound suddenly flooded into her world.

Why this?

Why here?

Why now?

MOVE!

"Death to all Heretics!" The robed merchant suddenly shouted as 'Effina's' ears were filled with a deafening explosion and her world was plunged to red.

Searing pain.

Scorching heat.

Crushing fear.

Everything's burning.

Effina found herself now staring at the burning village centre as screams of horror and cries of anguish filled the village.

"You shall pay for your crimes against life!"

"Burn in the fires of the Hell you bought upon yourselves!"

"Cleaning flames, cauterising the wounds you foul people inflicted!"

The band of merchants now revealed themselves to be Magicians garbed in the most vibrant of reds, mimicking the backdrop of the town they had purged.

"Someone...help..." Zena's voice filled Effina's mind as the vessel she was inhabiting tried to stand, only to fall back to the floor in agony.

Effina's vessel, none other than the girl she was teasing earlier, looked to the source of the pain she had felt. Her left leg was heavily burned, covered in blood and had some wood from the merchant's wagon lodged within her calf. The girl that was with Zena was nowhere to be seen, all the remained of where she was was a large pool of blood. She'd likely taken the full impact of the blast, obliterating her in an instant. Such a horrible way to go, albeit instant and likely painless.

The clamour of the destroyed village continued around her as Zena began to drag herself away from the eye of the storm and back towards the outskirts of the village. Effina could tell that Zena was likely trying to make her way back home, despite the pain she was in, clinging to the dim hope that her family may have been spared from the carnage.

"Burn!"

"Die, monsters!"

"Purged by flame! Cleansed from this world!"

"No survivors!"

Zena had managed to move herself back towards the schoolhouse, yet not even that was saved from the destruction. A solitary Magician raised their hand towards the schoolhouse and a plume of flame burst forth, incinerating the very foundations of the building and causing the brickwork to implode on itself. Many screams of absolute terror resounded over the sounds of all out war, reminding Effina that there may still have been innocents inside that building, unaware of their imminent demise.

Death by flame.

None shall survive.

Crushed by the earth.

Murdered without mercy.

The Magician then left the area and headed towards the outskirts of the Village. The very place Zena was heading to.

Likely fuelled by adrenaline, Zena managed to finally push herself into a standing position and began to hastily hobble off after the Magician. A part of her knew that she'd likely not make it, but she at least wanted to die in the familiar place of her home rather than get charred to ash in the streets. Zena pushed herself onwards, Effina experiencing the pain, fear and other emotions her vessel was feeling. Eventually, she arrived in a less burned area of the Village and headed straight towards one house, the least damage one on the block. The street was empty, cleaned of all life, leaving Zena the sole person there.

From the gates leading further into the mountains, a squad of heavily armed people emerged, arriving in a large armoured vehicle that screeched to a halt, parking side-on to the street. The new arrivals all sprinted off into the city, opening fire with both Kinetic Magic and Weaponry onto the assailant Magicians. They had a surprise strike to begin with, clearing out a handful of the attackers, yet when the Magicians realised they were not the only armed people present, the attention was suddenly turned onto the new arrivals.

Amidst the battle, Zena had just about reached the door to her house but could move no more. She collapsed down on the floor, not quite reaching the door, and could not will herself to move further. All she could do was look at the smoke filled sky, which was raining hot ash down onto the once clear streets. She felt herself slipping away, losing consciousness due to the pain, exhaustion and, ultimately, bleeding out, but she willed herself to remain awake. She was home, but she didn't know what became of her parents. Her family.

Why did this have to happen?

Why did they attack this village?

What had they ever done to deserve this?

So much blood.

So much pain.

So much fear.

So cold...

So very cold...

Darkness slipping in...

A muffled explosion.

A spear flying through the air.

An agonising pain...

So much blood...

Can't move...

A sharpened fence post impaling my body...

I...don't...want...to...die...


End file.
